Flag Day is celebrated every June 14, commemorating the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777,by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. Many don’t know that Flag Day has direct ties to two small New Jersey hamlets: Liberty Corner and Middlebrook. Liberty Corner is an American town with an all-American story.
UPDATE:
Annin’s Corner, New Jersey
The Mr. Local History Project looks back at one of Liberty Corner, New Jersey’s founding families known worldwide for manufacturing “old glory” that has been seen worldwide and even on the moon. The American Flag means so much in Bernards Township and Liberty Corner. Any event that involves an American Flag has its center thanks to the Annins of Liberty Corner. So if you have an event that needs an American Flag, the Annin Flag should be the first choice. Let’s see why.
Nothing has been more profound to Liberty Corner than the Annin family. The Annin Flag Company was founded in Verona, New Jersey, by Alexander Annin (Grandson of William Annin) and three of his siblings, whose Scottish heritage landed them in what was then known as Annin’s Corner in the 1720s.
The painting is said to be from the 1850s.
The Annins are one of the founding families of what was originally known as the Basking Ridge area. Back in the early 1700s, many Scottish families fled religious persecution and landed in the area based on information gathered from other Scots who were in the same situation.
Johnathan Johnston purchased land in the area, soon known as Annin’s Corner. Annin’s Corner was situated between Continental Army encampments in Middlebrook (Bound Brook) and Morristown when the Revolutionary War began. When a liberty pole was anchored in the village center, the name was changed to Liberty Corner.
The Annin Flag Company
In company history, 1766 is most significant not for William Annin’s stone house being built on Lyons Road but for the birth of Alexander Annin, the youngest son of William and the father of the Alexander Annin who started the flag-making venture.
The world’s largest and oldest flag company, Annin & Co., and its 500 employees produce miles of stripes and many stars that go into 15 million U.S. flags annually. All are made in the U.S.A.—at manufacturing plants in Verona, N.J. (pop. 13,533), South Boston, Va. (pop, 8,491), and Coshocton, Ohio (pop. 11,682).
The Annin Flag Company story began when Alexander Annin opened a ship chandlery at 99 Fulton Street in lower Manhattan in 1820. He was just 23 years old, the third son in a family of 11 children. However, it was his sons Edward and Benjamin Annin who formally founded the Annin Flag Company in 1847, cementing their place in American history and making it the largest American flagmaker in the world.
Edward and Benjamin Annin
At the time of his retirement from active business, in January 1847, Alexander’s (John Annan’s great-grandson) two older sons, Edward and Benjamin, founded the House of Annin. Edward and Benjamin were just 15 and 13 when they started the flag business within their father’s existing nautical flag business. Phebe Annin Ames Palmer, Alexander’s only daughter, lived until the age of 103 and was also part of the family business.
Alexander’s first American flag had only 29 stars. Every U.S. Presidential inauguration since Zachary Taylor’s, in 1849, has included an Annin flag. Annin Flags went with Commander Robert Peary to the North Pole (1909), with Admiral Richard Byrd to the South Pole (1929), and with Neil Armstrong to the moon (1969). An Annin flag was the first to unfurl over Iwo Jima (1945) and the first to fly over the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11. Annin’s first 29-star flag welcomed Iowa to the Union. Then, 21 more followed. However, the longest stretch of any American flag is the 50th, lasting since 1960 when Hawaii joined the United States.
Story for the Ages
One of Annin’s most treasured legends involves a woman who came into the Fulton Street showroom to buy a Confederate flag—and who drew blood from her finger to illustrate the shade of red she wanted for it. She turned out to be the widow of Jefferson Davis, who had been president of the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War. A true story.
Annin Archives
Where Have Annin Flags Been
No other flag company has been prominently shown than the American flags made by the Annin Flag Company. In fact, in American history, if you see an American flag, chances are it is an Annin flag. And it’s not just old glory that makes Annin proud; they’ve commissioned many other flags throughout American history. Take a look.
And as they say, “The rest is history”….
Liberty Corner and Flags
Celebrating our country, our war heroes and the flag is all part of life in Liberty Corner.
Additional Information
How to fold an American flag.
Did you know the FIRST Official American flag was flown in New Jersey? True
- The US Army’s birthday is also June 14th
- Get your own Annin Flag
- Annin Flag Company History Book
- The most enormous American flags…
Just purchased a New Annin flag. When I went to the junior high school named after William Annin we were the first graduating class in 1970.
Great history. Thank you for all your family has done for OUR country
Did you know that on June 14th 1777, just 13 days before the Battle of the Short Hills (not in Short Hills of today), the Continental Congress authorized our flag to be used in battle? TRUE – Hence, the flag was first officially flown in battle during” the Battle of the Short Hills.”
(which are the hills near the Plainfield Country Club that are shorter than the Watchung Mountains, hence the name “the Battle of the Short Hills”) This battle took place June 27th, 1777 here in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Although the battle ended in a stalemate, General George Washington considered it a win since he didn’t get captured, and the British artillery canons were mostly lost in Scotch Plain’s Ashbrook swamp, never reaching the battle front.