This Fourth of July, millions of American flags will fly from porches, parade floats, and front yards across the country. Here’s something worth knowing as you raise yours: there’s a good chance it was sewn by a company that has been making the Stars and Stripes in America since before the Civil War.
That company is Annin Flagmakers — the oldest and largest flag manufacturer in the United States. For nearly 180 years, Annin has done one thing better than anyone: make American flags, in America, by American hands. There may be no better brand to celebrate on Independence Day.
An American Flag, Made in America Since 1847
Annin’s story starts on the New York City waterfront around 1820, when Alexander Annin began stitching flags for the ships sailing out of the harbor. His sons, Edward and Benjamin, carried on the craft and formally founded Annin & Co. in 1847 — the year the company still counts as its beginning.
From that small shop, Annin grew into a national institution. Today the company is headquartered in New Jersey and produces more than three million full-size American flags every year. Through wars, recessions, and waves of offshoring that swept away so much of American manufacturing, Annin never stopped making the flag here at home.
Woven Into the Biggest Moments in Our History
It’s hard to overstate how often an Annin flag has been present at the defining moments of the American story. In 1849, an Annin flag flew at the inauguration of President Zachary Taylor, beginning an inaugural tradition that continued for generations of presidents.
It was an Annin-made flag that U.S. Marines raised atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945 — the image captured in one of the most famous photographs ever taken. And on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted the American flag on the surface of the moon, that flag, too, was made by Annin.
Still Made by American Hands
Annin’s flags aren’t a heritage label slapped on imported goods. The company employs more than 500 American workers across three domestic factories, where the flags are cut and assembled using advanced stand-up sewing techniques developed over decades.
That matters. When you buy an Annin flag, your money supports American jobs and a supply chain that stays inside our borders — not a flag of another country’s making sold back to us as a symbol of ours. For a product this meaningful, where it’s made is the whole point.
Why This One Matters on the Fourth
There’s a quiet irony that too many “American flags” sold in the U.S. are actually imported. The flag is the one product, above all others, that ought to be made here. Annin proves it still can be — and has been, without interruption, for nearly two centuries.
So this Independence Day, as you celebrate 250 years of America, the flag you raise can be a small act of the very thing the day is about: American independence, American work, American pride.
Learn More About Annin on Buy American Campaign
We’ve put together a full profile of Annin Flagmakers — its history, its factories, its products, and where to buy American-made flags — as part of our growing directory of trusted American companies. If you’re shopping for a flag this week, start there.
👉 Read the full Annin Flagmakers profile here.
Happy Independence Day from all of us at the Buy American Campaign. Fly it proudly — and fly one that was made here.
Whenever possible, choose Made in USA.
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