STAMP Hours
March 1- June 13 and September 8 – November 30, open daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
June 14 – September 7, open daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
December 1 – February 28, open Tuesday – Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
About the Betsy Ross House
The well-known and loved story of Betsy Ross sewing the First Stars & Stripes is tightly woven into the colorful fabric of America’s rich history. Though she’s become an American icon for the part she played in the birth of our nation, there’s a fascinating real woman behind the legend. Betsy Ross was a wife, working mother and entrepreneur who led a life filled with triumph and tragedy.
As the story goes, Betsy Ross was a young widow running an upholstery business from a rented rowhome when she was visited by George Washington, Robert Morris and her late husband’s uncle, George Ross, and asked to stitch a flag for the new nation. Betsy took on the commission, which would lead to a 50-year-long flag-making career.
Built more than 250 years ago, the building now known as The Betsy Ross House was home to not just Betsy, but to dozens of artisans and shopkeepers over the years before it was opened to the public as a museum in 1898. Today, the Betsy Ross House is one of the most visited historic house museums in the country, but also one of the few to emphasize women’s history, particularly working class women’s history.
Location
239 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19106
Getting There
Short walk from the 2nd Street stop of the MFL. Bus routes 5, 48 and 57 all stop nearby.
Accessibility
The courtyard, gift shop, a restroom, the exhibition gallery and first floor of the house are wheelchair accessible. A complimentary audio guide with visual aid is available to those who cannot navigate the steps in the historic house.
Photography
Photography (without flash) is encouraged