The Experience

A National Landmark

Built in 1793, the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House was the home and place of business of Mary Pickersgill, maker of the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key’s famous poem that later became our national anthem.  Mary and her daughter Caroline moved into the house in 1806, along with Mary’s mother, Rebecca Young, who began the flag-making business in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. 

In 1927, the house was sold to the city of Baltimore and the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Association established a museum inside the historic home.

Today, visitors encounter the interior of the Flag House much as Mary and her household would have seen it.  The house is filled with original early 19th century objects, many of them possessions of the Young-Pickersgill family.  Throughout their tour, visitors explore aspects of business and daily life in the Flag House by interacting with a variety sites and sounds from 1812.

Living History

On Saturdays, special group tours and frequent Flag House events, visitors can see life inside the Flag House recreated by our living history interpreters.  Visitors may meet one or more members of the War of 1812 household such as a Rebecca Young, Mary Pickersgill’s mother, African American apprentice Grace Wisher or Mary Pickersgill herself, maker of the Star-Spangled Banner flag.  The Flag House also offers special programs throughout the year where visitors can learn about the past through a variety of interactive activities.  See our calendar of events here.

Exhibits in the Jean and Lillian Hofmeister Museum Building

First Floor Permanent Exhibition Gallery
Preserv’d Us A Nation
For more than 2 years, the British navy blockaded the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.  Civilians along the Bay’s shores, including the citizens of Baltimore, lived in terror as militiamen and federal soldiers tried to defend the region from attack, climaxing with the burning of Washington and the Battle of Baltimore.  This exhibit tells the stories of this brave defense by ordinary citizens and professional soldiers alike during one of the few times the United States has been invaded by a foreign power.  The exhibit includes a variety of artifacts from the era, including a fragment of the Star-Spangled Banner flag and a drum used by an American soldier during the bombardment of Ft. McHenry.

Discovery Gallery for Kids
There’s plenty to see and do for our youngest visitors in our Discovery Gallery.  Cook for your family at a replica of the Flag House kitchen, design your own flag and fly it on the gallery’s flagpole, tell a story at the puppet stage or try games and toys from long ago.