Iowans may fly their flags today in celebration of the anniversary of Iowa statehood. Iowa’s admission to the Union came on December 28, 1846; Iowa was the 29th state admitted.
“Millions of acres. Iowa and Nebraska. Land for sale on 10 years credit by the Burlington & Missouri River R. R. Co. at 6 per ct interest and low prices.” Poster advertising land in Iowa, circa 1872, from the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Co. – Library of Congress Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 134, Folder 13; via Wikipedia
The Flag Code, 4 USC §6 (d), notes that the U.S. flag may be flown on “the birthdays of States (date of admission),” in addition to the other score of dates specifically written into law.
American Flag, Spencer, Iowa, 1996 – caption from the National Geographic Society: A man rolls up U.S. flags at the end of the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. “Although the population of Spencer is only about 12,000, the fair draws some 300,000 visitors. Once a year, rising from the endless flatness of the Iowa countryside, a crowd forms—to stroll, to hear big country music acts like the Statler Brothers, to sell a grand champion boar, to buy a new silo.” (Photographed on assignment for, but not published in, “County Fairs,” October 1997, National Geographic magazine) Photograph by Randy Olson; copyright National Geographic Society
More:
- Iowa’s path to statehood, detailed at Iowa Public Television; Iowa’s admission followed the template laid out in the Northwest Ordinances of 1786 and 1787
- 5th grade lesson plan and lesson materials for Iowa statehood, from University of Northern Iowa, Prairie Voices
- “Hubbard excavation sheds light on overlooked settlers,” Iowa City Press Citizen, October 31, 2014
Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
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