LYNNWOOD [CHERI RYAN | LYNNWOOD-ALDERWOOD MANOR HERITAGE ASSOCIATION BOARD]—If you have driven by Wilcox Park on 196th St SW in Lynnwood, also known as the Flag Park, you have undoubtedly noticed the United States flags that are flown there seasonally. Do you know the story of why the flags are displayed at the park and why there are 27? It is a story that is 50 years old. June 14, 2026, will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. June 14, 2026, will also commemorate 50 years since the flags were installed in 1976 to celebrate the United States Bicentennial. This is their story.
Taking a close look at the flags you will see each has a different number of stars. The flag on the far left (west side) represents the original 13 colonies with 13 stars. As the flags continue to the right each flag increases the number of stars representing states as they were admitted to the Union. The state of Washington’s star was added in 1890 after its formal admission to the Union on November 11, 1889. This variation is flag number 21 and includes stars representing Washington, Montana, Idaho and North and South Dakota. The 27th flag flies on the tallest pole at the center of the flags. This is our current flag and was designed in 1960 to include 50 stars representing each state.
In 1975 Snohomish County began making plans to celebrate the United States Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary. A group of volunteers from the South Snohomish County American Revolutionary Bicentennial Commission began their plan to have replicas of all versions of the United States flags be on permanent display at Wilcox Park. The goal was to have the flags installed and displayed for a ceremony to celebrate the bicentennial.
Service and civic organizations were asked for their support with the project by making a donation of $219.00, the cost of one flag pole installed and a flag. It was slow going to get sponsorships for the flags that were to be raised and flown on flag day, June 14, 1976. With a little over two months to go the group only had 11 sponsorships. A decision had been made to not solicit donations from the local businesses. The company that made the poles offered the group credit so they could continue with the project.
The commission kept reaching out to potential sponsors for the flags when they realized federal law required the flags needed to be illuminated at night if they were to be flown 24 hours a day. This would require four floodlights at a cost of $380.00 each. They would need to raise even more money. In the course of one week money was raised with small donations through the sales of individual flags and “Share in America” certificates to pay for the lights.
But now there was another obstacle. A National Guard unit volunteered to install the lights until a state electrical inspector informed the commission that state law required all electrical work done outside a private residence had to be performed by a licensed, bonded electrician. A local electrician stepped up to donate his time for the installation with the state’s approval.
The flags were presented on June 14th 1976 in a patriotic ceremony called the “Avenue of Flags.” The commission’s work was far from complete, the project was in the red as they had not secured enough sponsors for the necessary financial support needed. They received a $1,000 contribution from the State Bicentennial Commission through a grant request made by the City of Lynnwood. The group had been disqualified from applying for the grant themselves because they had missed the application date for state bicentennial community status.
Within a few months after the ceremony all flags had a sponsor. Each flag was to have a plaque affixed to the flag pole with the sponsor’s name inscribed on it. However instead, most likely due to funds, a center plaque was installed in 1985 by the Lynnwood Emblem Club listing all 27 sponsors.
The flag day ceremony was conducted by the Lynnwood Elks. Their members wore period military uniforms representing the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I and II and the Old Cavalry Unit. Members of the North Queens Drill Team carried the United States flags to the center of the park while the 724th Air Force band from McChord Field played and members of the 124th Army Reserve Command Color Guard at Fort Lawton raised each flag. Over 200 spectators watched the ceremony including a tribute acknowledging the state’s Medal of Honor winners, both living and deceased. The mayors from Brier, Edmonds, and Mountlake Terrace attended while Lynnwood’s Mayor Meryl Hrdlicka accepted the flags on the city’s behalf after a history of each flag was read.
The story doesn’t stop on June 14, 1976. Each year the City of Lynnwood Parks Department take the flags out of storage prior to Memorial Day. The flags are raised by park employees and stay flying until after Labor Day. These flags typically last three years. After the second year the flags are washed to be used a third year and then usually replaced. The park department cares for the flags, the lights, and the concrete poles including the balls on top that are repainted as necessary.
Now the next time you see the 27 flags at Wilcox Park you will know the story of how a small group of people worked together to celebrate the 200th anniversary of our country.
Author: Lynnwood Times Contributor
