1024 College Avenue

Jackson, Kentucky 41339

606-666-5541

Serving Breathitt County since 1894

Flag of the United Kingdom
1606 – 1776

The flag of the United Kingdom is the official flag of the colonies and features the Crosses of St.
George (England), St. Andrew (Scotland), and St. Patrick (Ireland) to mark the union of the
several countries that made up the English nation. It is often called the “King’s Flag” and “the
Union Flag.”

The earliest form of the flag of Great Britain was developed about 1606, during the reigns of
James I (1603–25) and Charles I (1625–49). During the Commonwealth and later periods
(1649–60), the Irish harp was included but was removed after the Restoration of Charles II in
1660, following the English Civil War.

Use of the King’s Flag continued until January 1, 1801, when the Kingdoms of Great Britain and
Ireland were united. The flag was flown for government and military purposes, and on British
ships, it served as the Royal Navy's standard.

The Union Flag, as it is often known, flew over British colonial land and outposts, including
Virginia and Kentucky, until the development and widespread use of the Red Ensign flag in the
colonies, beginning about 1707.

We fly the British flag for one week in remembrance of the English heritage and the origins of
our nation, being mindful of the “repeated injuries and usurpations” enumerated in the
Declaration of Independence.

British Ensign
1707 - 1776

Adopted by Queen Ann (1665-1714), the Red Ensign, also known as the “Colonial Red Ensign,” was the flag that flew in British territories and colonial possessions beginning in 1707.

The flag, commonly called the “Meteor” Flag, was best known as the British Maritime flag.

The Red Ensign was developed as part of a class of flags to be distinctive from a distance, allowing ships at sea to identify other British ships before closing to within firing range.  The banner was created by placing the “King’s Flag” into the canton of a solid red flag.

According to a brief history of the flag, it was “widely used on ships during the Colonial period.”  The flag was also used in English ports and at colonial fortifications and outposts around the world.  It was recognized as the “national flag of the English colonies.”

When British forces and their allies marched out of Yorktown, Virginia, to surrender to the Continental Army on October 17, 1781, reports indicated that the color bearers were carrying a British ensign.

The flag was no longer used by patriotic colonials after 1776.

FIVE STARS BCPL staff (l.-r.): Thelma Gross, Library Aid; Misty Little, Library Aid; Sandra Napier, Library Aid; Susan Pugh, Librarian. Inset: Executive Director Stephen D. Bowling. Photo ©2023 Bob Hower/Quadrant Inc., inset photo courtesy of Breathitt County Public Library

Sons of Liberty Flags
(circa 1765)

Heavily in debt and in need of revenue following the French and Indian War, the Parliament of Great Britain approved the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765. The measure required that all printed materials be produced on “stamped paper” for which a tax had been paid in British currency rather than colonial paper script.

The tax was applied to all legal documents, magazines, playing cards, newspapers, and nearly all paper documents throughout the thirteen colonies.
Without a colonial representative in Parliament, the colonists objected to the imposed tax as “Taxation Without Representation.”

After a protest by the group then known as the “Liberty Boys” against the Stamp Act was held under an elm tree in Boston, the tree became known as the “Liberty Tree,” and a protest group, the Sons of Liberty, was formed. The Sons of Liberty continued to meet under this tree, so the British cut the tree down, and the Sons replaced it with a Liberty pole.

According to several prominent members of the Sons of Liberty, the group adopted and occasionally used this flag. An original flag flown from the Liberty Tree is in the collection of Revolutionary Spaces at the Old State House in Boston. The flag is made of wool and has nine vertical stripes: four white and five red.

Some historians doubt that the loosely organized group used this flag, but a similar version was later adopted by the Colonial Navy and used throughout the war.

We fly the flag in remembrance of the impact that the Sons of Liberty had on public opinion related to numerous Parliamentary taxes that became the foundation of the American cry for freedom.

British Ensign Flag 1707 to 1776.

Displayed at the library from June 22 to June 29.

Betsy Ross Semiquincentennial Flag

​Displayed at the library from June 29 to July 6.

Betsy Ross Semiquincentennial Flag

This week, we display what has been identified as the Betsy Ross Semiquincentennial Flag. Designed in commemoration of the nation’s 250th birthday, the flag was produced to honor the traditional story of Elizabeth "Betsy" (Griscom) Ross as the maker of the “first American national flag.”

According to the legend, first published in 1870, Ross, an upholsterer in Philadelphia, was approached in June 1776 by George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, who asked her to design and make a new flag for the fledgling country. Ross obliged and created the thirteen-striped flag with a blue canton featuring thirteen stars arranged in a circle.

In the centuries since, historians have questioned the accuracy of the story, as no contemporary accounts of the flag's creation exist. Many credit Francis Hopkinson, who also designed the Great Seal, with the banner's design.

Ross did, in subsequent years, produce hundreds of flags for the United States government and military regiments in the Philadelphia area.
The flag we fly this week honors the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the United States of America.

Sons of Liberty Flags

Displayed at the library from July 6 to July 13.

Library Houses Bicentennial Gift

A special gift, presented to the Breathitt County Public Library during the celebration of
America’s 200 th birthday, is still on display for the public to see.
Fifty years ago, in 1976, a limited-edition quarter-scale replica of the Liberty Bell was
delivered to the First National Bank of Jackson after bank president J. Phil Smith heard about the
special casting of the bell to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial. Smith purchased the bell with
the intent to donate it to the people of Jackson and the Breathitt County Public Library.
The bell, produced by Schulmerich Carillons, Inc. of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was the fiftieth
bell the company had produced in the quarter-scale size. After the bell was delivered, Smith
commissioned a solid cherry base and a commemorative plaque for the front of the bell stand.
For several weeks after the bell was received, it was on display in the First National Bank
lobby on Main Street.
Smith presented the bell to Oakley Turner, Chairman of the Library Board of Trustees, during
special ceremonies at the Breathitt County Courthouse on June 25, 1976, to commemorate the
nation’s 200 th birthday.
The bell was installed at the library on June 28, 1976, and has been on display since.
Smith’s donation was added to the Breathitt County Historical Museum, which had been open
at the library for several weeks to highlight Breathitt County’s history in relation to the nation’s
anniversary.
The original Liberty Bell was commissioned and made in 1752 and, according to legend,
cracked in 1835 while ringing after the passing of Chief Justice John Marshall. The replica
contains a symbolic crack.
The bell is on display daily at the library and rung on special occasions.

Flag of the United Kingdom 1606 to 1776.

Displayed at the library from June 15 to June 21.

Kentucky’s Breathitt County Public Library Honored as Inaugural Recipient of the Library Journal/Gale Libraries Defying the Odds Award
Library staff of five leverages strong community connections to provide residents with resources and support during pandemic closures, historic natural disasters 

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​Plain City, OH, & FARMINGTON HILLS, MI.  August 1, 2023 – Breathitt County Public Library (BCPL), in Jackson, Kentucky, is the inaugural recipient of the Library Journal/Gale Libraries Defying the Odds award. The Libraries Defying the Odds award, sponsored by Gale, a Cengage company, recognizes a U.S. public library that is stepping up for its community and staff in the face of adversity and celebrates library workers providing services, programming and collections for those who need them most.

 In recent years all libraries have faced unanticipated obstacles, from natural disasters to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to escalated intellectual freedom challenges. BCPL, serving a rural population of just over 13,500 in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, faced an exceptional series of hardships during the past three years and showed great creativity, grit and commitment in the ways it pivoted to serve its community. Beginning with COVID shutdowns in 2020 and continuing with historic flooding disasters in 2021 and 2022, BCPL’s small—but mighty—staff of five relied on ingenuity and close community connections to provide its residents with the services they needed to meet an evolving set of needs.

 “Over the past several years, extraordinary things were happening at this small, rural library in Kentucky. With their deep roots in the community, the library’s staff listened intently to what their neighbors wanted and needed in the face of life challenges that no one anticipated,” said Lisa Peet, Executive Editor, Library Journal. “BCPL exemplifies the critical ways that libraries serve our communities.”

 As the 2023 Libraries Defying the Odds award recipient, BCPL will receive $10,000 in grant money from Library Journal and Gale and is profiled in the August issue of the magazine in print and online. Also featured in LJ’s August issue is South Carolina’s Charleston County Public Library, under the leadership of Executive Director Angela Craig, earning an honorable mention for its work helping to combat food insecurity in tangible, sustainable ways that involve the entire community.

 About Library Journal
Founded in 1876, Library Journal is one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the library field. Over 75,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries read LJ. Library Journal reviews over 8,000 books, audiobooks, videos, databases, and websites annually, and provides coverage of technology, management, policy, and other professional concerns. For more information, visit www.libraryjournal.com. Library Journal is a publication of Media Source Inc., which also owns School Library Journal, The Horn Book, Junior Library Guild, and AKJ Education.

About Cengage Group and Gale
Cengage Group, an education technology company serving millions of learners in 165 countries, advances the way students learn through quality, digital experiences. The company currently serves the K–12, higher education, professional, library, English language teaching and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, part of Cengage Group, believes in the power and joy of learning. For schools, the company helps drive positive outcomes by providing essential, curriculum-aligned content that empowers educators to solve curriculum challenges and meet students where they are. Today that includes supporting distance and social and emotional learning as well as equity and inclusion goals. Gale’s K–12 offerings extend from educational databases and custom eBook collections to instructional tools and professional development resources. For more information, please visit: www.gale.com/schools.

#LibrariesDefyingOdds

We are celebrating the Semiquincentennial of American Independence by presenting 

"Flags of the Revolution"

Beginning on June 15, the Breathitt County Public Library will display the flags of the American Revolution from the flagpole on the front of the building at 1024 College Avenue.

A new flag will be presented each week, and a brief explanation and history of the flag will be published on the library’s Facebook page.

More than 20 flags will be displayed throughout the summer and fall, and information will be presented to remind us of the hard-fought struggle for American Independence.

These 3 x 5 flags will fly and be on display outside for one week.

Each flag will be displayed throughout the summer and fall in the library with information about its history after it is flown.

Please stop by the library and learn more about the flags of the colonies and our nation as we help celebrate the 250th Birthday of the United States.