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One of the Oldest American Flags With 13 Stars and Stripes to Go On Display in Boston

It was discovered after someone bought a house in Medford

Starting Tuesday, Boston’s Commonwealth Museum will display the oldest 13-stars-and-stripes American flag available for public viewing. The exhibition is meant to correspond with Flag Day, which is also Tuesday, June 14.

The flag is believed to have been hoisted during the Revolution at the old Fort Independence on Boston Harbor's Castle Island. It’s been in the same family since 1901, when a member bought a fully furnished home in Medford from one of those clans that traces its lineage back to the Mayflower. The flag was discovered inside and voila!

The family has only allowed it to be publicly displayed a handful of times since, including during bicentennial celebrations in 1976.