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by | Feb 21, 2017

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Alliance of National Heritage Areas

2 days ago

Congressman Steve Cohen is a member of the National Heritage Area Caucus and was a co-sponsor of the National heritage Area Act.

He is retiring at the end of this Congress. We applaud him for a lifetime of public service and for supporting National Heritage Areas and our important role in telling America's story.

#KeepingAmericasStories ...

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Alliance of National Heritage Areas

4 days ago

The newest member of The National Heritage Area Caucus, Rep. Mike Bost sponsored legislation to expand the footprint of Looking For Lincoln in his Illinois district.

Thank you for joining the Caucus and supporting the role that NHAs play in preserving and sharing America's stories.

#KeepingAmericasStories ...

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Alliance of National Heritage Areas

6 days ago

An #OnThisDay in 1814, courtesy of Baltimore National Heritage Area:

Many Americans know the basic story of Francis Scott Key writing the Star Spangled Banner after the American flag survived the British bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry.

What you might not know is the seamstress who made the flag, Mary Pickersgill, lived in Baltimore and her home is still standing to this day and is the picture accompanying this post. Mary, who was 37 when commissioned to sew the flag, was a widowed mother using the sewing skills learned from her mother at a young age to make ends meet. There were few jobs for women in early Baltimore and even fewer female entrepreneurs, but Mary was able to support herself and head a lucrative flag making business. Having moved to Baltimore in 1806, she quickly made the city her home and established her business out of the front parlor of her house on the corner of Albemarle and Queen (now Pratt) street. Within the year Mary’s reputation as a skilled seamstress was catching the eye of wealthy Baltimore merchants and militia officers, only enhancing her reputation in the city.

When war broke out in 1812, Baltimore officials scrambled to ready the city for eventual attack by the British knowing Baltimore’s, one of the largest shipping ports in America, was a prime target. Preparations of Fort McHenry began, but the young commander, George Armistead, noted the fort needed a flag “so large the British would have no trouble seeing it from a distance.” This task fell to Baltimore’s greatest seamstress, Mary Pickersgill. Through the summer of 1813, Mary, her daughter, mother, nieces, and indentured servant Grace Wisher spent countless hours of the day and well into the night hand stitching together a 30 x 42-foot flag. This flag, ironically made from English wool bunting and cotton, is larger than Mary’s house and by the end of the project she was renting out the nearby brewery for extra space. On August 6th 1813, Mary added the final stitch and the flag was completed in as little as six weeks.

Mary’s flag, after being handed over to the fort’s garrison, waved over the harbors entrance and kept watch over Baltimore. On the fateful morning of September 13th 1814, the flag was replaced by a smaller 17 x 25-foot storm flag, also sewed by Mary, to weather out the 25-hour British bombardment. Many citizens of Baltimore gathered on their rooftops to watch the barrage and wondered if the fort would survive. On the morning of September 14th, Baltimoreans awoke to silence and, upon looking out over the water, they would see Mary’s flag, the 30 x 42-foot Star Spangled Banner waving over the fort and a single cannon boom signifying American victory. A victory which solidified Mary, Baltimore, and the Star-Spangled Banner in American national identity.

#KeepingAmericasStories ...

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Alliance of National Heritage Areas

1 week ago

Congresswoman Betty McCollum is a longtime champion of National Heritage Areas and America's National Parks, in particular through her former role as Chairwoman of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee.

Thank you for being a member of the National Heritage Area Caucus.

#KeepingAmericasStories ...

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Alliance of National Heritage Areas

2 weeks ago

The experience of the American worker is a central theme for many National Heritage Areas. This is certainly true for Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area outside of Atlanta.

For a century, Arabia Mountain and surrounding areas were quarried for their highly prized granitic stone called Tidal Grey. Used for construction and street pavers, this stone went all over the country, winding up in the Brooklyn Bridge, West Point, and the foundation of the Rayburn House Office Building in the Capitol complex in DC.

But what were the lives of the quarry workers like? It was hard, backbreaking work in the hot Georgia sun, but quarry workers still found the time to build schools and churches and use their masonry skills to help building community. Learn more about the lives of quarry workers through the documentary short "Lithonia: The City That Stone Built," linked below.

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