Strawbery Banke Museum to Host 2025 Flag Day Commemoration

PORTSMOUTH – On Friday, June 13, Strawbery Banke Museum, in collaboration with alumni from Haven School, will host its annual Flag Day Commemoration opposite the historic Liberty Pole at the edge of Prescott Park. The public is invited to this free event, beginning at 9 a.m. on the Strawbery Banke side of Marcy Street. 

The morning’s ceremony will include a presentation of the colors by a delegation from the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Dan Healy Division, and a performance of the National Anthem by renowned soprano Angelynne Hinson, celebrated for more than two decades as a regional soloist and stage performer. 

Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern will offer remarks, along with Linnea Grim, president and CEO, Thomas W. Haas Endowed Chair of Strawbery Banke Museum. Additional reflections will be shared by Sherm Pridham, librarian emeritus of Portsmouth Public Library, former Puddle Dock resident, and Haven Elementary alumnus.

"The Liberty Pole stands as a powerful symbol of citizen action through generations," said Grim. "As the nation prepares to celebrate America's 250th anniversary in 2026, Strawbery Banke is proud to honor the enduring ideals of liberty, community, and civic engagement. Celebrating Flag Day in this historic neighborhood connects us to the generations who came before and inspires us to carry their spirit forward."

The Liberty Pole, recognized as the oldest in America, was first raised by Portsmouth’s Sons of Liberty on Jan. 9, 1766, as a protest against the Stamp Act. Since then, it has remained a symbol of public engagement and resistance. The current pole, featuring a gold eagle hand-carved by Strawbery Banke’s master carver Ron Raiselis, was restored by the City of Portsmouth in 2019.

The commemoration also echoes the events of June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress adopted the flag of the United States and Captain John Paul Jones assumed command of the Ranger, built in Portsmouth—marking the first time a U.S. vessel received honors from a foreign nation under the new American flag.

For more information, please visit StrawberyBanke.org.

About Strawbery Banke Museum:
Strawbery Banke is a nearly 10-acre living history museum in Portsmouth, NH that interprets over 350 years of local history, from Indigenous history to the present. Through its historical houses on their original sites, heirloom gardens, traditional crafts, and costumed roleplayers, visitors are invited to explore the stories of the families who lived and worked in the authentic waterfront neighborhood of Puddle Dock. As the first Smithsonian Affiliate in New Hampshire, Strawbery Banke is part of a prestigious network of more than 200 Affiliates across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Panama.

Strawbery Banke welcomes visitors, members, schoolchildren, and volunteers for daily programs, exhibits, special events, and seasonal ice skating. Strawbery Banke Museum is funded in part by grants from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation; the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts & National Endowment for the Arts; the Institute of Museum and Library Services; the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom; the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. For more information and a complete calendar of events, please visit StrawberyBanke.org.