Liberty flag replica raised in Schenectady 250 years later

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - In 2026, the United States of America will mark its 250th birthday. This month, Schenectady kicked off the pre-party celebrations with a Liberty flag raising ceremony, replicating an important piece of American history.

On January 12, the Schenectady County Historical Schenectady (SCHS) commemorated the 250th anniversary of the raising of the Liberty flag in Schenectady by reenacting it. Participants met at the Schenectady Historical Museum, and then walked to the corner of Church and Union to relive the raising of the flag.

SCHS owns the only surviving Liberty flag from the Revolutionary War. The flag is currently on loan to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, PA, and will return to Schenectady in 2026. The flag raising ceremony marked the first of many events that the SCHS has planned over the next three years leading up to the anniversary of the birth of the country.