UPDATE:
Yes, it’s going to happen. A NEW flagpole is replacing the old, nasty, rusted version somewhere around June 19, 2026.
While America’s 250th birthday is underway, the Basking Ridge town green is about to get a major upgrade. If you’ve been following this story on social media, there’s been a constant drumbeat urging residents to address the decrepit flagpole on the Basking Ridge green in the village of Bernards Township. Quietly, in early May 2026, a sign was placed in front of the current flagpole on the town green – O.M.G.
A new 50-foot-tall flagpole, from Acme/Lingo Flagpoles, will fly a new 10′ x 15′ flag when the new pole is installed. The installation date is on or about the week of June 19th, 2026. After receiving requests to repaint the pole, the township invited several contractors to assess and submit proposals, all of whom recommended replacing the pole due to its condition; the pole is at least 38 years old, according to Ryan Wallace, Director at the Bernards Township DPW.
Check back below to see the installation live!
Many don’t know that the Basking Ridge green was formally dedicated as a public park on August 6, 1927. The property was donated by Daniel and Samuel Cerino, known locally as the Cerino Brothers, during a period when Bernards Township was working to beautify and formalize the historic village’s center. The deed specifically restricted the green to use only as a community flagpole site and a World War memorial, making patriotism and remembrance central to the park’s purpose from the very beginning.
The green itself was relatively small but highly visible within the village center. The area measured 96 feet in length. Its width varied from 17.17 feet at the Oak Street end to 26.53 feet at the south end. Originally, the site had been a smaller square plot where local farmers used platform scales to weigh hay, making it once one of the busiest commercial gathering spots in old Basking Ridge.
Long before its formal dedication, the area evolved through local community effort. In the late 1890s, residents reportedly held a “frolic” and brought load after load of soil to enlarge and elevate the green. The mound eventually became topped with several trees, a telephone pole, and a fire hydrant. In 1926, as part of a broader campaign to improve the appearance of the village center, the mound was cut down and reshaped, paving the way for the formal establishment of the Basking Ridge green and its historic flagpole the following year.
The flagpole on the Basking Ridge green was not simply decorative. From the moment the green was formally dedicated on August 6, 1927, the deed itself specified that the property was to be used for a “community flagpole and a World War memorial.” That means the flagpole was legally embedded into the civic identity and intended purpose of the green from the start.
The earliest planning for the pole appears in March 1927, several months before the dedication. At a Bernards Township meeting, officials announced that the Cerino Brothers were willing to deed the green property to the township, provided a flagpole, war memorial, or both were erected there. Township officials then appointed Ned O. Howlett and Raymond A. Henry to solicit public contributions for the project, while the Cerino Brothers themselves pledged $25 toward securing the pole. The stories suggest that the flagpole project was directly tied to the transformation of the village crossroads into a formal, patriotic civic space.
Article: March 10, 1927
Bernardsville News
OWNERSHIP OF VILLAGE GREEN BRINGS LENGTHY DISCUSSION
Bernards Committee Would Finally Decide the Matter Once and For All
The comparative peace and amiability of the regular semi-monthly meeting of the Bernards Township Committee on Tuesday afternoon in Basking Ridge was suddenly shattered with the advent of a discussion of the village green in that village, brought up by Committeeman W. D. Bancker.
Mr. Bancker desired the ownership of the strip of ground decided, stating that Cerino Brothers claim ownership, and will not allow the township to do anything with the strip of land. The green belongs, Mr. Bancker continued, to the public because of its position, and the matter should be settled one way or the other since some day “they may decide to put a pig-pen there or a cow and a calf.” The green was improved with public money, he stated, and the Presbyterian Church has aided considerably toward maintaining it.
Township Clerk Craig denied this, claiming that the church had only used it for their own purposes on several occasions. Mr. Bancker retorted that he had questioned a number of representative citizens of Basking Ridge, all of whom were of the opinion that the green should belong to the village and be used by it. Interposing, counsel maintained that the question should be immediately settled, and that though, as Mr. Craig said, the deed to the property is in the possession of Mr. Cerino, the ownership question was not definitely settled.
Per the Deed of the Land to Bernards Township , NOTHING can be perminant on the Green except a war memorial and a flagpole.
Dorino and Savio Cerino
(Daniel and Samuel Cerino)
The discussion brought out that the previous township committee understood that every obstruction be removed from the green, unless it was, perhaps, a flagpole or memorial. If Cerino owns it he should pay for the curbing around it, insisted Mr. Bancker. Mr. Craig said that Mr. Cerino had told him he would personally contribute $25 toward a memorial or a flagpole and deed it over to the township’s use, with the restriction that it must be kept clear of all other obstructions. Here, Counsel Palmer and Clerk Craig entered into a rather heated argument, which ended with the motion by Mr. Bancker that Chairman Cross and the township counsel be appointed a committee to interview Cerino Brothers with regard to the possession of the ground for public use and that report be made at the next meeting. The wish of the committee, as expressed by the members, was to avoid such deadlocks and bitter feelings as arose over the placing of a Christmas tree last year, by a definite stand. The motion was passed unanimously.
David Cerino, of Cerino Brothers, who hold title to the village green, states that Township Clerk Craig’s statement concurs exactly with their feeling regarding the strip of land in question and that the offer of Cerino Brothers still stands to deed the property to Bernards Township to use for the placing of a flag pole or war memorial — or both — and they will also contribute toward either project. That they would not object to cutting away a reasonable amount of the terrace for road use so long as a large enough plot be left to mark the division between the right and left traffic — as at present maintained. In answer to the intimation that they should be charged for the curb placed around the green, Cerino Brothers state they were never approached in relation thereto and did not know of the intended improvement until it was published in the News.
Although articles never give an exact height for the original Basking Ridge green flagpole, later reports describe it as a “historic wooden flagpole,” indicating it was substantial and locally well known for decades. By 1935, the pole was already an established landmark, important enough to warrant municipal upkeep. A township committee formally approved reimbursing Mr. Beatty $15 for repainting the flagpole on the green, showing the community considered it a permanent civic feature requiring maintenance and care.
1963 Tornado Takes Down Flagpole
One of the most dramatic chapters in the flagpole’s history came on April 11, 1963, when a miniature tornado struck Basking Ridge shortly after 10 a.m. and blew down the historic wooden pole. The article reported that the flagpole crashed across Finley Avenue, temporarily stopping traffic while road crews removed it. The storm also knocked down trees and electrical wires throughout Bernards Township. Fortunately, both the American and Red Cross flags had been removed shortly before the storm due to high winds, preventing them from being destroyed when the pole fell.
Taken together, the Basking Ridge green flagpole serves as a central patriotic symbol of the village for a century. It was tied to memorialization, beautification, civic pride, and public ceremony, standing as one of the defining visual features of the historic village center from 1927 until today. And 99 years later, a new pole is coming to the village’s tiniest official pocket park.
Area Flagpole Tidbits
Nearby Somerset Hills civic flagpoles of the same era: Using the common civic flagpole rule of thumb, the flag length is about 1/4 the pole height. Here’s a flagpole/flag comparison:
| Village / Location | Pole height | Likely flag size | Approx. flagpole weight | Square feet | Approx. nylon weight | Approx. heavier polyester weight |
| Basking Ridge Village | 50 ft | 10 x 15 ft | 350 to 500 lb | 150 sq ft | 5 to 6.5 lb | 9 to 12 lb |
| Peapack Gladstone | 50 ft | 8 x 12 ft | 350 to 500 lb | 96 sq ft | 3.5 to 4.5 lb | 6 to 8 lb |
| Liberty Corner | 60 ft | 10 x 15 ft | 500 to 700 lb | 150 sq ft | 5 to 6.5 lb | 9 to 12 lb |
| Bernardsville Olcott Square | 50 ft | 10 x 15 ft | 350 to 500 lb | 150 sq ft | 5 to 6.5 lb | 9 to 12 lb |
| Warren – Flag Plaza | 80 ft | 25 x 40 ft | 1,100 to 1,600 lb | 1,000 sq ft | 35 to 50 lb | 60 to 90 lb |
| Warren – Keystone Corner | 110 ft | 30 x 60 ft | 2,500 to 4,000 lb | 1,800 sq ft | 65 to 90 lb | 110 to 160 lb |
The Warren flags at Keystone Corner and Flag Plaza operated on a completely different scale from the classic Somerset Hills village civic poles. The Keystone Corner flag alone had nearly 20 times the fabric area of a typical Peapack Gladstone village flag.
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