Betsy Ross House
239 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Google Maps location

NOMINAL ADMISSION FEE
(but free if you don't go inside)

Check the Betsy Ross House website for entry fees and the most up-to-date information.

If you are going to go see Ben Franklin's grave, you can find the Betsy Ross House just a little further down Arch Street (to the east and on the other side of the street).

Betsy Ross was the Philadelphia seamstress and upholsterer who allegedly made the first American flag with stars as well as stripes, in 1777, supposedly by order of the Continental Congress. Trouble is, there's no paperwork to back up that story!

She did make flags though, so it's possible that she earned the reputation she has enjoyed these past nearly 250 years.

Betsy Ross died in 1836. Around 1876, during the U.S. Centennial, her relatives began opening the house to the public for tours, and that's when the story began to take hold about George Washington and members of the Continental Congress personally visiting her and ordering the first U.S. flag with 13 stripes AND thirteen stars, which were arranged in a circle on a blue field.

Betsy Ross and her husband are buried on the grounds.