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Recent Press
DAILY MESSENGER
By Morgan Wesson, correspondent
Daily Messenger
Mon May 12, 2008, 09:58 AM EDT
Simple objects touched by history can take on a life of their own. One such artifact, known
as the Lincoln flag, which once cradled the head of a dying president, will be on exhibit in
East Bloomfield for a week in August.
The East Bloomfield Historical Society was to announce the loan arrangement with a
historical society from Milford, Pa., at a ceremony today at 10 a.m. at Elton Park.
Few know of the Lincoln flag. It was privately held for most of a century, then, in 1954, a
man donated a family heirloom to a small town museum and told the story behind it.
This was the flag assistant stage manager Thomas Gourlay grabbed to put under the
wounded Abraham Lincoln’s head, moments after John Wilkes Booth shot him in the
presidential box at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.
Gourlay, historians have confirmed, “…pulled the large (American) flag which had been
draped over the balustrade and placed it partially under Lincoln’s head,” according to
historian Joseph E. Garrera.
Other scholars confirmed the story. The textile was dated. The flag is stained with human
blood thought to be Lincoln’s, but no DNA testing has been done.
“There is nothing left to compare it to,” said Lori Strelecki, curator of the Columns
Museum in Pike County, Milford, Pa., which owns the flag.
Thomas Gourlay kept the flag that night in 1865. He eventually gave it to his daughter
Jeannie, who watched the assassination from the wings of Ford’s Theater. She had had a
lead role in evening’s play, “The American Cousin.”
Jeannie Gourlay married and raised a son and kept the Lincoln flag.
“They would hang it from their porch on the Fourth of July. It’s huge,” said Strelecki. “Her
son once brought it to school for show and tell.”
All this time, the flag was technically lost to history, then, like the HMS Titanic, the Hope
Diamond and the Rosetta Stone, was found.
In 1954, V. Paul Struthers, Jeannie Gourlay’s only child, gave the flag to The Columns
Museum, not far from his mother’s grave in Milford. It was there until Joseph Garrera
found it, hanging quietly on display from a shower rod. Garrera’s research in the 1990s
kicked off scrutiny of the flag.
Today flag historians, and there are some, give the Lincoln flag ringing endorsements.
George F. Cahill, founder of the Pittsburgh-based National Flag Foundation, has said it
could become “the most revered single flag of our day, similar in importance to Francis
Scott Key’s ‘Star Spangled Banner,’ Betsy Ross’ creation, and the ensign raised atop Iwo
Jima in World War II.”
Michele Fagan, a rare book dealer in East Bloomfield, learned of the flag as she did
research in preparation for a Civil War-themed event in August. History Days, set for Aug.
8-10, will feature the re-dedication of the town’s Civil War monument and period re-
enactors, including two Chicago performers who will portray President and Mrs. Lincoln.
“I was doing research on the official flag of Lincoln’s presidency when I found it,” Fagan
said of the Columns Museum’s flag.
Unsure if her small historical society would land such a loan, Fagan asked the Ontario
County Historical Museum’s executive director, Edward Varno, to write a letter in support
of the History Days event to The Columns.
“We’re kind of like the grandfather over here,” said Varno on Friday from Canandaigua.
“Local historical societies look to us for help.”
As for the Lincoln flag itself, he said, “I do not doubt the authenticity of it.”
The Columns typically gets calls from big outfits like the Library of Congress, but Strelecki
has a sense of kinship with East Bloomfield’s small organization.
“I’m absolutely in favor of this loan. Here I’m the only paid employee. We’re a community
board, and we all support each other. It sounds like a similar situation in Bloomfield,” she
said.
The fortunes of The Columns Museum have picked up a bit — a better building and more
notoriety — since the Lincoln flag was rediscovered and accepted by historians. But, “We
do need a lot of work on our roof. We recently went into debt to put on a new roof,”
Strelecki said.
So one hand will wash the other: The East Bloomfield Historical Society has begun raising
the $2,500 it’ll need to pay the Pike County Historical Society for the loan.
“We’re hoping a company comes forth that would allow us to man and pay for this exhibit
for the run of the show,” said Fagan.
The Town Board has agreed to contribute $2,500, but costs for the three-day event will
include far more than the flag loan. For example, the historical society must also pay fees
for the actors who play the Lincolns.
Contact the East Bloomfield Historical Society at (585) 657-7244.
Contact Morgan Wesson at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 256, or at lfriend@messengerpostmedia.
com
| Academy Building |
| Upcoming Event |
| Nearby Vineyards |
| History Days August 8-10th |
| Upcoming Event |
| Elton Park |
The Lincoln flag was used to stem the flow of blood from Lincoln's fatal injury at Ford
Theatre. It is made of wool and has 36 stars.
Exhibit Hours are as Follows:
Thursday 8/7 9am-3pm
Friday 8/8 9am-3pm
Saturday* 8/9 and Sunday 8/10
9am-5pm Mon 8/11 and Tue 8/12
9am-3pm Admission is $3; Children 10 and under are free
* Saturday is the ONLY day that the Lincoln Life Mask will be on display.
As with any rare artifact, NO photographs and NO video devices will be
allowed inside the exhibit area.
| 8 South Ave. East Bloomfield, NY 14443 (585)657-7244 |
| NEW ANNOUNCEMENT! Lincoln Life Mask To Join Lincoln Flag Exhibit! Saturday Aug. 9th Only! |
New Announcement! A rare Lincoln Life Mask will also be on exhibit Saturday from 9am - 5pm only! An amazing opportunity to see two rare historic Lincoln artifacts. |
DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
East Bloomfield to display flag used on Lincoln
James Goodman • Staff writer • May 13, 2008
An American flag, used to comfort President Abraham Lincoln as he lay bleeding from a head wound in Ford's Theatre in
1865, will be on display in East Bloomfield for six days in August.
The bloodstained flag has seldom left The Columns Museum in Milford, Pa., and its survival over the years was not widely
known until the early 1990s.
But the flag is considered an important piece of history and should be a big draw for this small Ontario County community
(population: about 3,500). It will be on display at the East Bloomfield Historical Society, 8 South Ave., from Aug. 7 to 12.
"That flag, with Lincoln's blood on it, was a symbol of the price paid to save the union," said Joseph Garrera, executive
director of the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown, Pa., who headed the group of scholars who authenticated
the flag in the mid-1990s.
Lincoln was fatally shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth, an ardent supporter
of slavery who entered the presidential box of the theater and shot Lincoln in the back of the head.
The president died the next day.
Thomas Gourlay, who was the stage manager that night, grabbed a large flag that had been draped over the railing of the
presidential box and placed it under Lincoln's head, Garrera said.
Gourlay kept the flag and gave it to his daughter, Jeannie Gourlay Struthers, who moved to Milford. Her son, V. Paul
Struthers, gave it to the Pike County Historical Society in 1954, which put in on display at its museum in Milford.
Not until the early 1990s did most Lincoln scholars learn of the flag, one of about a handful of flags that had decorated
the presidential box.
And while the Pike County Historical Society previously loaned the flag only to three other museums, permission was
granted to the East Bloomfield Historical Society.
Michele Fagan of the Bloomfield Historical Society made the request, wanting the flag to be part of the History Days
celebration of the town from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10.
Lori Strelecki, director of Pike County Historical Society's museum, urged that permission be granted, noting that East
Bloomfield is, like Milford, a small community with a lot of pride in its history.
"Being an advocate for small town museums, I fought to get it here," Strelecki said.
Permission was also granted to lend the flag to the Library of Congress for a week before it comes to East Bloomfield.
JGOODMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com
East Bloomfield to display flag used on Lincoln
James Goodman • Staff writer • May 13, 2008
An American flag, used to comfort President Abraham Lincoln as he lay bleeding from a head wound in Ford's Theatre in
1865, will be on display in East Bloomfield for six days in August.
The bloodstained flag has seldom left The Columns Museum in Milford, Pa., and its survival over the years was not widely
known until the early 1990s.
But the flag is considered an important piece of history and should be a big draw for this small Ontario County community
(population: about 3,500). It will be on display at the East Bloomfield Historical Society, 8 South Ave., from Aug. 7 to 12.
"That flag, with Lincoln's blood on it, was a symbol of the price paid to save the union," said Joseph Garrera, executive
director of the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown, Pa., who headed the group of scholars who authenticated
the flag in the mid-1990s.
Lincoln was fatally shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth, an ardent supporter
of slavery who entered the presidential box of the theater and shot Lincoln in the back of the head.
The president died the next day.
Thomas Gourlay, who was the stage manager that night, grabbed a large flag that had been draped over the railing of the
presidential box and placed it under Lincoln's head, Garrera said.
Gourlay kept the flag and gave it to his daughter, Jeannie Gourlay Struthers, who moved to Milford. Her son, V. Paul
Struthers, gave it to the Pike County Historical Society in 1954, which put in on display at its museum in Milford.
Not until the early 1990s did most Lincoln scholars learn of the flag, one of about a handful of flags that had decorated
the presidential box.
And while the Pike County Historical Society previously loaned the flag only to three other museums, permission was
granted to the East Bloomfield Historical Society.
Michele Fagan of the Bloomfield Historical Society made the request, wanting the flag to be part of the History Days
celebration of the town from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10.
Lori Strelecki, director of Pike County Historical Society's museum, urged that permission be granted, noting that East
Bloomfield is, like Milford, a small community with a lot of pride in its history.
"Being an advocate for small town museums, I fought to get it here," Strelecki said.
Permission was also granted to lend the flag to the Library of Congress for a week before it comes to East Bloomfield.
JGOODMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com
Lincoln Flag
We are pleased to announce that the
Lincoln Flag will be on exhibit as part of
History Days. The exhibit will run
August 7-12th.
On loan from Pike County Museum.
We are pleased to announce that the
Lincoln Flag will be on exhibit as part of
History Days. The exhibit will run
August 7-12th.
On loan from Pike County Museum.