William T. Kerr (1868-1953)
Collier Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Known as "The Father of Flag Day," he founded the American Flag Day Association and served as its president for Fifty years. President Truman signed the Act of Congress that officially designated June 14 as Flag Day, with Kerr at his side, on August 3, 1949. Kerr lived here in Rennersdale, 1911-1928.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
From his home in Rennersdale, William T. Kerr devoted his life to a single patriotic cause: establishing a national day to honor the American flag. He founded the American Flag Day Association and led it for half a century, campaigning tirelessly for official recognition. His persistence was rewarded on August 3, 1949, when President Truman—with Kerr standing beside him—signed the act designating June 14 as Flag Day.
Why it matters
Kerr's decades-long crusade turned a grassroots observance into a nationally recognized holiday, reflecting how ordinary citizens shaped the rituals of American civic identity.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · William T. Kerr
- · Harry S. Truman
Related events
- · Designation of Flag Day, 1949
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Sto-Rox Bicentennial
McKees Rocks, PA
In 1976 the United States marked its 200th birthday, and communities across the country threw parades, buried time capsules, and raised markers to the occasion. The Sto-Rox Bicentennial Committee — named for the twin boroughs of Stowe Township and McKees Rocks along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh — left this monument as a message across a full century, addressed from the people of 1976 to the people of 2076. It captures a moment when a hard-working industrial river town paused to place itself in the long arc of the American story.
Bethel Presbyterian Church
Bethel Park, PA · est. 1951
Founded in 1776 in the Old Stone Manse by the Rev. John McMillan—a pioneering Presbyterian minister and educator who helped bring both religion and schooling to western Pennsylvania—Bethel Presbyterian became a mother church, giving rise to five nearby congregations and its name to the surrounding community. In its cemetery lie fourteen Revolutionary War soldiers drawn from these frontier settlements. The church stands as a landmark of how faith, education, and patriotism took root together on the western edge of the young nation.
Bethel A.M.E. Church
Pittsburgh, PA · est. 1995
Founded in 1808 as the African Church and chartered a decade later, Pittsburgh's Bethel A.M.E. congregation became far more than a place of worship. It opened the area's first school for Black children in 1831 and, in 1841, hosted a statewide civil rights convention where free African Americans organized for their rights. As the community grew, the congregation moved to Wylie Avenue and later Webster Avenue, carrying its long tradition of faith and activism with it.
George B. Vashon (1824-1878)
Pittsburgh, PA · est. 2026
George B. Vashon, who grew up near this Pittsburgh site, was a lawyer, poet, educator, and abolitionist who broke barriers throughout his life. In 1844 he became Oberlin College's first Black graduate and its valedictorian; denied admission to the Pennsylvania bar because of his race, he became the first Black lawyer in New York in 1848. He went on to help found and teach at Howard University and to serve as president of Avery College.