George Washington signed an Act of Congress in 1796 saying that the flag of the United States should be red and white, with fifteen white stars in a blue field. During the War of 1812, Mary Young Pickersgill made a flag in this brick house that carefully followed Washington's decree. She used approximately 400 yards of fabric to make the 30 by 42 foot flag.

  When Francis Scott Key saw the flag flying over Fort McHenry during the British invasion of the port of Baltimore on September 13 and 14, 1814, he was inspired to write, "O say can you see, by the dawn's early light..." The Star Spangled Banner is sung at public events and gatherings nationwide. Her famous flag now hangs in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and a replica of it is on display at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House.