Texas State Tartan

Texas Bluebonnet Tartan

Adopted on May 25, 1989.

The Texas Bluebonnet Tartan was adopted on May 25, 1989 as the Texas State Tartan.

House Concurrent Resolution No. 242, 71st Legislature, Regular Session (1989)

Tartan refers to fabric woven into plaid patterns which represent clans, families or regions in Scotland. A Tartan may be designed to commemorate a special event or person. In old Scotland, the Tartan was used for dress as well as a banner or flag. The kilt is made in special Tartan designs. Because a family or community worked the cloth together, their clothing was made of the same patterns, and so a person could be recognized by the Tartan plaid that he wore.

The Texas Bluebonnet Tartan was conceived and designed by June P. McRoberts. She designed a pattern to represent the state flower, the Bluebonnet, a member of the lupin family, which is widespread in many parts of Texas, using the colors and symmetry of the flower itself. She received much help and guidance from the Scottish Tartan Society Museum in Scotland and later registered the Bluebonnet Tartan with the STS Museum, the official register for tartans.

The first official recognition of the McRoberts tartan came in 1986 when the Sesquicentennial Committee of Texas adopted the Bluebonnet Tartan as the official Sesquicentennial Tartan. In 1989, Texas Representative Schlueter became aware of the Texas Bluebonnet Tartan and one of his last acts before retiring was to put forth the motion that the tartan be officially adopted as the State Tartan.

In May 25, 1989, by In-House Concurrence Resolution #242, the Texas Bluebonnet Tartan became the official State Tartan for the great state of Texas.