{"id":3542,"date":"2016-08-18T08:04:27","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T12:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=3542"},"modified":"2025-04-18T10:15:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T14:15:49","slug":"national-parks-celebrate-100th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/national-parks-celebrate-100th-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"National parks celebrate 100th birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Great<\/a>
Great Falls Park’s 15-star flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The National Park Service is commemorating its centennial this year and invites Americans (and people around the world) to visit its many sites. When you do, you\u2019ll spot plenty of flags.<\/p>\n

It happened recently to a family that stopped by Great Falls Park in Virginia, just a few miles from Washington, D.C. They spied a 15-star American flag<\/a> on the welcome center. Inside, park rangers explained that the banner reflects the age of the park\u2019s site, which dates back to when George Washington and others in the 18th century foresaw how the Potomac River could be used as a transportation canal.<\/p>\n

\"Flags<\/a>
Flags fly in this painting of battle of Antietam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NPS, which has been overseeing the park for 50 years, said that the location is where \u201cthe Potomac River builds up speed and force as it falls over a series of steep, jagged rocks and flows through the narrow Mather Gorge\u2026.Great Falls Park has many opportunities to explore history and nature, all in a beautiful 800-acre park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Searching for \u201cflag\u201d on the NPS website (www.nps.org<\/a>) turns up many ways the agency is involved in preserving places where banners waved. An example is the Antietam battlefield. The story of the Civil War<\/a> site includes details about the symbolic and practical values of banners. \u201cA unit\u2019s flag,\u201d the Park Service explains, \u201cserved important functional purposes on a battlefield. One of the most important functions was to help tell the two armies apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"California's<\/a>
California’s bear flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NPS also relates the story of the Bear Flag Revolt 170 years ago in California<\/a>. After local forces defeated Mexico\u2019s army, \u201cit was necessary to design a flag to replace that of Mexico<\/a>,\u201d the Park Service notes on its website. \u201cThe central feature\u2026became a grizzly bear\u2026.Because of their flag, the insurgents immediately became known as the Bears and their uprising became known as the Bear Flag Revolt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A speculative image of a Viking raven flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since before Columbus\u2019s time, the Americas have seen flags. \u201cThe Vikings carried a flag which bore a black raven on a field of white\u201d when they came to North America, the NPS recounts. In 1492, when Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, his ships flew the Spanish flag<\/a> with its \u201ctwo red lions on two white fields and two yellow castles on two red fields.\u201d Later, \u201cthe Dutch brought their own striped flags when they settled in New Amsterdam, which we now call New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Columbus's<\/a>
Columbus’s flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, the NPS has its own flag, made up of its arrowhead-shaped logo on a green background. The logo\u2019s images include a bison, a snow-covered mountaintop, a pine tree and a lake, all reflective of the natural beauty of the United States.<\/p>\n

While the Park Service has been marking its 100th year throughout 2016, it targets August 25 as a key date to remind Americans that the centennial is about looking back and forward.<\/p>\n

\"National<\/a>
National Park Service flag. (wikipedia.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt is really about the future,\u201d says the NPS website. \u201cIt\u2019s about kicking off a second century of stewardship for America\u2019s national parks\u2026.We want people everywhere to embrace the opportunities to explore, learn, be inspired or simply have fun in their 407 national parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

(The NPS invites everyone to visit its parks during 2016. On three days, they can do so free of charge: August 25, its anniversary date; Sept. 27, National Public Lands Day; and Nov. 11, Veterans Day.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Park Service is commemorating its centennial this year and invites Americans (and people around the world) to visit its many sites. When you do, you\u2019ll spot plenty of flags. It happened recently to a family that stopped by Great Falls Park in Virginia, just a few miles from Washington, D.C. They spied a… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[377,376],"class_list":["post-3542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-flag-history","tag-national-park-service"],"yoast_head":"\nNational parks celebrate 100th birthday - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/national-parks-celebrate-100th-birthday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National parks celebrate 100th birthday - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The National Park Service is commemorating its centennial this year and invites Americans (and people around the world) to visit its many sites. 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