Like me, many of us in Somerset County, New Jersey, we drive back and forth on Route 22 never thinking that just off the highway on the hillside off Vosseller Avenue in Bridgewater, New Jersey is a small 16 acre property that has the distinct honor of being the first place to fly the first official flag of our new American country on June 14, 1777.
The area is called “Middlebrook”; it’s a tiny section of land recognized as part of Bridgewater, New Jersey, just south of Martinsville in Somerset County, New Jersey. It’s just north of Bound Brook. It was on a warm “almost summer day” on June 14, 1777, that Washington’s Continental Army hoisted America’s first official flag after the Continental Congress approved the flag on June 14, 1777, known to Americans now as Flag Day, the day we all honor the American flag.
However, while everyone thought Betsy Ross designed the first American flag, many historians have come to the conclusion that it wasn’t Ross who made the first official American flag, but Francis Hopkinson, a southern New Jersey native, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the one who designed the first official American flag.
Who Is Francis Hopkinson?
Just before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, many people may not remember that all the colonies were under Royal rule. At the time, Royal Governor Franklin was living in Perth Amboy just weeks before the signing and was arrested by colonists who wanted separation. These independence-minded folks also disbanded any New Jersey signer who was going to reject the declaration. So all five of the singers were newly selected to replace the previous New Jersey delegation. Francis Hopkinson was one of those chosen to represent and sign the Declaration of Independence.
Francis Hopkinson of Bordentown, New Jersey, a naval flag designer, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, designed his 1777 American flag while he was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board’s Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November 1776 and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June 1777. The Navy Board was under the jurisdiction of the Continental Marine Committee.
Not only did Hopkinson claim to have designed the U.S. flag, but he also claimed to have designed a flag for the U.S. Navy. Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own life when he sent a letter and several bills to Congress for his work. These claims are documented in the Journals of the Continental Congress and George Hasting’s biography of Hopkinson.
Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) resided at 101 Farnsworth Street in Bordentown, Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. His home was built in 1750. He lived in this home with his wife Ann Borden (1747-1827) from 1774 until Hopkinson’s death in 1791. Ann Borden was the granddaughter of Joseph Borden, the founder of Bordentown, New Jersey. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. Various businesses now occupy his home in Bordentown, but it remains partially open to the public. Inside are wall displays in tribute to the signer. Hopkinson, who died in 1791 at the age of 53, is buried in Christ Church Cemetery in Philadelphia.
So now you know. If you’re from New Jersey, the Hopkinson flag is for you!
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