House of Flags in Columbus featured in new video series – The Tryon Daily Bulletin

“Flags Are US” deals with important flags in history

COLUMBUS – Local content creator Mark Levin and House of Flags Director Robert Williamson recently teamed up to release a series of short videos called “Flags Are US,” focusing on flags that have played an important role in United States history.

Each episode includes interesting details about a specific flag, and new videos are released regularly. The House of Flags Museum in downtown Columbus displays hundreds of flags and is the only museum of its kind in the country.

“We have about 300 flags on display. These are authentic reproductions of flags that represent the history of the United States of America from its beginnings to modern times,” Williamson said in the first video of the series.

Levin, a staff writer for the Tryon Daily Bulletin, is well known locally for his YouTube channel, “The Country Life with Columbus Mark,” which features interesting people and places from our area and states across the U.S. The channel currently has over 200 videos and over 1,400 subscribers.

“We thought this would be a fun series,” Levin said. “The House of Flags has a wealth of information and history, and we think it's important to share it with viewers around the world.”

Topics covered in upcoming episodes include “Revolutionary War-Era Rattlesnake Flags,” “Our Nation’s 15-Stripe Flag,” and “South Carolina: It’s Not a Crescent Moon.”

The first flag in the new series is the Hornet's Nest flag, the first unofficial flag of North Carolina, dating to 1780 or 1781.

During the American Revolutionary War, British General Cornwallis and his army finally gained a foothold in Charleston, South Carolina in April and May 1780. In August 1780, Cornwallis and his troops then captured Camden, South Carolina. On the march to Charlottetown, North Carolina, a battle took place on September 26, 1780. A handful of North Carolina militiamen repelled the 2,000-man British army and brought it into South Carolina.

General Cornwallis later described Charlottetown and Mecklenburg as a “hornet’s nest of rebellion.”

The flag features a wasp's nest and May 20, 1775, the date of Mecklenburg's declaration of independence from Great Britain. This flag was most likely designed and raised in Charlotte in early 1781.

Interestingly, Charlotte is also known as the “Hornets’ Nest” city and its NBA team is called the “Charlotte Hornets.”

To learn more about this and 299 other historic flags of our nation, visit the House of Flags Museum at 33 Gibson Street in Columbus. It is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is always free and group tours can be arranged almost any time.

If you are interested in volunteering as a receptionist or tour guide, or would like more information about the museum, contact the House of Flags at [email protected]call 828-894-5640 or visit houseofflags.org.

The latest episode in video can be found at https://bit.ly/44S37QC.