In July of 2015 we traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and stopped in to see Betsy Ross. Of course the stop was at her former home, but she is still there as well.
The Betsy Ross House is a landmark in Philadelphia purported to be the site where the seamstress and flag-maker Betsy Ross lived when she is said to have sewed the first American Flag. The house is located at 239 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 and is in within walking distance of many other historical landmarks that are related to the establishment of the United States. Find out the hours of the tours on the location's website.
As mentioned in our opening above, we did pay our respects to Betsy Ross when we were there. In preparation for the United States Bicentennial, remains deemed to be those of Ross and her third husband, John Claypoole, were moved to graves in the courtyard of the house. A private nonprofit organization, Historic Philadelphia, Inc., began leasing the property from the City of Philadelphia in 1995 and continues to manage the site to this day.
Over the years, various structural changes and general wear and tear left the house in dire need of restoration. In 1937, Philadelphia radio mogul, A. Atwater Kent offered up to $25,000 for the restoration of the house and commissioned historical architect Richardson Brognard Okie to do the work.
Original elements were kept wherever possible. Otherwise, materials from demolished period homes were used. A new structure was added in the rear, made from period bricks. The front stairway and dormer were entirely replaced. Find out more details about the house in our following video.
We spent the entire day in the historic district of Philadelphia, walking around to various locations and trying to take as many tours we could with the short amount of time we had in the area. One of the places we made sure to go inside and view was the Betsy Ross House. You can find more images from that tour by click on the "more images" button below.
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