Tricksy History

Here is another photograph we simply love:

But, luckily as it turns out, it is not in the book. We excluded it based on a hunch. Once we had some free time on our hands we researched the matter further and breathed a heavy sigh of relief that we listened to our nagging feeling of doubt…

What you will find in the book are mentions of Mount Vernon’s Pioneer Flag. Again, it is a story that couldn’t be explained fully in the confines of captions, but we manage to cover the most important points about this amazing piece of history. If you haven’t seen it, take a trip to the courthouse. After walking in the front door and through security, take a sharp left and you will see a huge display case on the left wall holding this treasure. The display box covers most of the wall. And the flag is so massive that you can only see a small section of it—the rest is folded behind what is visable.

On the opposite wall are two framed write-ups about the flag. One in particular has some great historical details:

Almost half a century ago the one hundredth anniversary celebration of our National Birthday was approaching. The settlers, about seventy-five in number, who lived in and near Mount Vernon, the pioneer village on the banks of the Skagit River, were planning a celebration. John Lorenzy said to Ed English that it would be the first Fourth of July he had ever celebrated without a flag. They decided there must be a flag but there was none to buy. So the Clothier-English store ordered the bunting at a cost of about seventy-five dollars, for a large flag that was to be 24x36 feet with stripes 18 inches wides. Charles Towne cut out the stars, and for several days all the ladies of the neighborhood gathered in the parlors of the Hotel, the old Ruby House. Mrs. McNamara and Mrs. Papin served the lunches to the following who sewed: Mrs. Minerva Kimble, Mrs. Clarinda Gates, Mrs. Dennis Storrs, Mrs. George A. Hartson, Mrs. J. F. Dwelley and Mrs. Schott. They used the first sewing machine in the community to do the stitching. To celebrate the completion of the making of the flag, they and their friends held a picnic in the spruce grove on the Kimball farm just south of Mount Vernon.

According to local historian Dick Fallis, “One problem with this account is that the Ruby House did not come into existence until 1879, concurrent with the gold excitement at Ruby Creek, some distance up the Skagit River beyond the jam that had not yet been cleared away by the earlier date.” (from Bridgeside: Selected Stories of Dick Fallis Skagit County Historian, available at the Skagit County Historical Museum.)

Now, the flag in the photograph above clearly has the 48-star pattern that did not exist until July 4, 1912. A flag made in 1876 would have had a 37 or 38-star pattern. Since the flag was not put away until 1914, it is possible that they might have updated the stars. Did people do that? Good question. That put the first seed of doubt in our minds. The other thing is that big flags were a big deal back then—it seems like every community had one. Therefore this could have easily been some other community’s flag. Even though we were told this was Mount Vernon's Pioneer Flag, we decided to err on the side of caution and omit the picture.

Interestingly, the document quoted above isn’t referenced, but seems to have been written shortly after the flag was placed in its permanent display case (Armistice Day, November 11, 1924). But it does state that “The last star sewed on the flag represents the admission of Colorado as a state.” Clearly that would eliminate the flag shown above, but there is still a mystery...

Once Colorado was admitted, the U.S. flag had a 38-star pattern, like this:

Looking at the flag in the courthouse, it is possible to see only the lower two rows of stars. There are seven in each row and they are offset from one another (pardon the lack of a photo, but the glass case and dark hallway aren’t conducive to good photography). That would indicate a 43-star pattern like the one seen here:

And that would make since—add the star for your home state! So perhaps the stars were updated. But that does contradict the document posted across the hall from the flag. Even the most seemingly cut and dried history can turn up some mysteries! Now what we wouldn’t give to see a good photo of the flag before it was put on display...