It’s Flag Day, visit with Betsy Ross

Betsy Ross House
The Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia as seen on Aug. 11, 2013. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

PHILADELPHIA (defeo.biz) — So, today is Flag Day.

The holiday commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States. That, of course, happened on June 14, 1777, during the Second Continental Congress.

President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 officially established June 14 as Flag Day. In August 1949, Congress officially established National Flag Day.

Now, no retelling of the flag story would be complete without a discussion of Betsy Ross. That is one of the great American legends.

As the story goes, Gen. George Washington approached Ross and asked her to make a flag. She obliged, and the rest is history.

While it’s a great story, it’s most likely just a legend. Still, a visit to the Betsy Ross House is a worthy trip to learn more about Ross, a seamstress who died in 1836.

The house, located at 239 Arch Street and dating to 1740, is said to be Ross’ residence from 1776 until 1779, though there is some debate about whether this is actually the house in which she lived.

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About Todd DeFeo 1646 Articles
Todd DeFeo loves to travel anywhere, anytime, taking pictures and notes. An award-winning reporter, Todd revels in the experience and the fact that every place has a story to tell. He is the owner of The DeFeo Groupe and also edits Express Telegraph and Railfanning.org.