History
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Betsy Ross (1752 - 1836) lived and worked on Arch Street during the American Revolution, boarding in the house of the elderly Widow Lithgow, which has been restored to early 1777. In 1776 she lost her husband John, and as a young widow she worked as an upholsterer before turning to making naval colors when war came. In early 1777 she sewed the first Stars and Stripes for the naval vessels defending Philadelphia. The Stars and Stripes became an important symbol of America, and the Betsy Ross story became an enduring part of American memory as the meanings of the American flag and the story of its first maker continued to develop and change with the nation.
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States
