In the U.S., June 14 is designated as Flag Day. The American flag was less than fifty years old when Alexander Annin began making U.S. flags for the merchant ships in his sail-making shop on the New York City waterfront in the 1820’s.

In 1847, his sons started Annin Flagmakers. Today, it is America’s oldest and largest flag company and is still family owned and operated.

The story of Annin is interwoven with the story of America itself:

  • It was an Annin flag that flew at the inauguration of President Zachary Taylor, starting an inaugural tradition.
  • An Annin flag draped the coffin of President Abraham Lincoln on its journey from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois.
  • The U.S. Marines raised an American flag made by Annin atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945
  • NASA selected an American flag made by Annin to participate in Apollo 11’s mission to the moon in 1969.

Annin is one of the founders of the Flag Manufacturers Association of America (FMAA), a not-for-profit trade association, representing United States flag manufacturers and suppliers dedicated to educating and promoting the quality, variety and proper use of flags manufactured in the United States.


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This American Small Business Celebrates Flag Day All Year


Photo: NASA

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