Flag Day Monument

07/09/2026

Video from the July 8th Declaration of Independence reading at the Monument. Video credit Mike Pio

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07/08/2026

On this day, July 8, 1776, the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Join us at the Flag Day Monument today at 5:00pm for the 250th commemoration of the first reading. 🇺🇸

07/08/2026

Wednesday, July 8th — Join Us for the Nationwide Reading of the Declaration of Independence!

At 5:00 PM CST, National Readings of the Declaration of Independence will be simultaneously held as part of the America 250 commemoration. Communities across the entire United States and its territories will be reading together to mark the 250th anniversary of the first public reading in 1776. Most locations will begin gathering at 4:30 PM.

Local Reading Locations:
• Elgin History Museum – 360 Park St, Elgin, IL
• Flag Day Monument – 100 N Island Ave, Batavia, IL
• Lincoln Landing – 200 W 9th St, Lockport, IL
• Glen Ellyn Historical Society – 800 N Main St, Glen Ellyn, IL
• Bolingbrook Liberty Tree (Village Hall) – 375 W Briarcliff Rd, Bolingbrook, IL

06/28/2026

Across the United States on July 8th at 5pm Central, there will be public readings of the Declaration of Independence to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the first public reading. One of the locations where this is happening is at the Flag Day Monument across from the Batavia City Hall, 100 N Island Ave. Please join in this celebration.

Known reading locations can be found here: https://hawaiiamerica250.org/reading-locations

06/15/2026

Great livestream of today’s Flag Day Ceremony by Sean at on YouTube.

Thank you for the kind words, Sean.

This stream is created with

06/14/2026

06/14/2026

Happy Flag Day!!! 🇺🇸 Working as a grade school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, in 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at the Stony Hill School. The school has been restored, and a bust of Cigrand also honors him at the National Flag Day Americanism Center in Waubeka.

Cigrand became president of the American Flag Day Association and later of the National Flag Day Society, which allowed him to promote his cause with organizational backing. Cigrand once noted he had given 2,188 speeches on patriotism and the flag.

After 30 years of advocacy, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 Flag Day. Cigrand generally is credited with being the “Father of Flag Day,” with the Chicago Tribune noting that he “almost singlehandedly” established the holiday.

In October of 2023, the Flag Day Monument was constructed and dedicated in Downtown Batavia near the Riverwalk. Dr. Cigrand was a resident of Batavia when President Wilson issued his Flag Day Proclamation.