Southeast's Kent Library receives original 1848 American flag

A 171-year-old 30-star American flag has found a new home at Southeast Missouri State University’s Kent Library.

Part-time Southeast Missouri resident George Ann Huck donated the rare, 48-inch-by-32-inch American flag Aug. 9 of last year, according to Southeast’s special collections and archives librarian Roxanne Dunn.

The flag is now part of the university’s regional history collection.

Commemorating the addition of Wisconsin as the 30th state in the Union, it was the official flag July 4, 1848, to 1851, before a new star was added representing California’s admittance to the Union.

She said the university chose to hold off on formally announcing receipt of the artifact until last week, in celebration of July Fourth.

The flag is temporarily viewable, lying flat within the Special Collections and Archives department.

“We’re trying to work on relaxing this crease (in the flag) a little bit,” she said.

Dunn said nothing within the archives is permanently displayed, so the flag will soon be stored with the other artifacts, viewable by request.

“When we received it, it was obviously folded and in a frame,” she said. “It was displayed in a home, where unfortunately it did receive some sunlight.”

In terms of the flag’s somewhat deteriorating condition, Dunn said it’s in relatively good shape for its age, pointing to some fading and two still-intact grommets.

Every little nick and rip is a part of the flag’s history, she said, adding, “This is one of the highlights of our collection.”

Dunn said Southeast archivists “won’t be doing a whole lot to it,” aside from allowing the flag to temporarily remain on a flat surface.

“We want things to lay as naturally as they can,” she said. "Our job is to keep it in a secure environment.”

According to Dunn, Huck came across the flag in an attic while acquiring a neighbor’s property in Commerce, Missouri.

“It’s interesting, because it has a relatively short shelf life,” Dunn said. “There’s not a lot of [30-star flags] out there.”

Southeast housing the flag “certainly enhances our reputation and our collections here, to say we have a piece like this,” Dunn said.

“It builds on the other flags we have within the collection.”

Huck’s mother was the first and only female mayor of Commerce, Missouri, according to Dunn, and her father was a riverboat captain.

Dunn said since Huck has “wonderful historic information” from her father, she hopes to further the conversation with Huck and start also acquiring those relics.

According to Southeast, Huck attended Central Methodist University, Autonomous National University of Mexico and Tulane University. She went on to become a professor at Central College in Iowa and the director of the cross-cultural study program in the Yucatán.

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