Somerville to Mark 250th Anniversary of First Flag Raising on Jan. 1

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Museum will kick off the New Year on Thursday, January 1, 2026, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the first-flag “Grand Union” flag-raising. A procession led by “George Washington” will leave from the City Hall Concourse at 11:30 a.m. and head to Prospect Hill, and all are invited to join in. The annual ceremony at Prospect Hill Park features a history-filled speaking program from 12 noon to 1 p.m.

This event honors a defining moment of the American Revolution when General George Washington established the Continental Army and responded to escalating British pressure with the raising of the Great Union Flag on Prospect Hill. As always, members of the public, including families with school children, are invited to participate.

The event will bring together historic Massachusetts Militia units, displaying their flags for the first time in Somerville. Featured guests include Somerville’s own Major General Richard Johnson, Deputy FORSCOM Director, and historical interpreter Sean Osborne, portraying Continental Army soldier Primus Hall—son of enslaved parents Delia and Prince Hall and later a respected educator and abolitionist —who enlisted in January 1776 in pursuit of his freedom. The program will also feature Phillis Wheatley’s 1775 poem “To His Excellency George Washington,” written while she herself was enslaved, followed by John Koopman’s dramatic portrayal of Washington’s arrival on horseback.

“This event marks 250 years of shared history and reaffirms our collective responsibility to create a better tomorrow," said Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. "May we continue to lead through our values, striving to build a city where equity, innovation, freedom, and opportunity thrive.”

Complementary hot drinks and a children’s flag-making activity will be also available, and children and neighbors will be invited to raise their own flags at the conclusion of the ceremony. Weather permitting, Prospect Hill tower will be open to the public.

About the First Flag Raising

In January 1776, after months of siege and dwindling morale, Washington ordered the flag raised to rally his exhausted troops. The Continental Army—composed of free and enslaved Black soldiers, Indigenous warriors, immigrants, and colonial farmers—held the line through that harsh winter. Reinforced by Henry Knox’s Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery, they successfully forced the British evacuation of Boston two months later.

The First Flag Raising program was developed by the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission and long hosted by the City of Somerville, and is now presented by the Somerville Museum in partnership with the City. The 250th commemoration is part of the MA250 (massachusetts250.org) initiative and is partially funded by an MA250 grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.

About the Somerville Museum

The Somerville Museum brings the city’s history, art, and culture to life through exhibitions, programs, and community-curated projects. The Museum reopens for the season on January 16. Learn more at somervillemuseum.org.

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

The City of Somerville can provide you with an interpreter in your language for free. To request an interpreter, please contact us at languageaccess@somervillema.gov or call 311 (617-666-3311) at least 7 days in advance of this event. 

These events will be videotaped by the City’s GovTV team. Watch them on-demand with optional closed-captioning (select the CC icon) on YouTube.com/SomervilleCityTV. Or watch on cable TV at GovTV Comcast Ch. 22 and GovTV Astound (RCN) Ch. 13 & 613.  Videos generally post within one business day of recording.