The Liberty Pole at Prescott Park is 110 feet tall, mounted by a golden gilded eagle and a silver painted beehive surrounded by thirteen balls. This pole has been replaced many times over the years, most recently in 1984.
There are two plaques on the flag pole. The first, made of bronze, reads:
"Liberty, Property
and No Stamp
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Near this spot
then "Swing Bridge"
But thenceforth called
"Liberty Bridge"
on January 9, 1766
nine years
before the Revolution
the "Sons of Liberty"
of Portsmouth, NH
placed the first
"No Stamp Flag"
raised in the
American Colonies
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"Swing Bridge" built 1731
Waterway filled 1899
---------------
The Liberty Pole
Association
1913"
A painted wooden plaque on the flagpole reads:
"Erected July 4, 1824
In commemoration of
July 4 1776 that declared
our emancipation from
tyranny and gave us
the privileges of
freemen.
The eagle at the top of the Liberty Pole in Prescott Park is a replacement. You can see the orginal, carved by Laban Beecher in 1824, preserved at the Portsmouth Public Library.
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Copyright 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Happy Flag Day to you too!
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