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Father of our Flag LbNA #29987

Owner:Lone Star Quilter
Plant date:Apr 11, 2007
Location:
City:Montgomery
County:Montgomery
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: Dusty Strings
Last found:Jun 26, 2019
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFa
Last edited:Apr 11, 2007
The Lone Star Flag of Texas first rose in Montgomery County - or at least the idea of it did. It was a product of the vision of Dr. Charles Bellinger Tate Stewart, a Montgomery postmaster and pharmacist and the first Secretary of State for the Republic of Texas. You could say that Dr. Stewart is the Father of our Flag. Dr. Stewart was appointed by Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar to a committee with Thomas Barnett and Richard Ellis to create an official flag for the Republic. Dr. Stewart sketched on vellum three rectangles of equal size, one vertical and the others horizontal. In the vertical rectangle he placed a lone star. The original drawing was not colored but Dr. Stewart labeled the rectangles blue, white and red. These colors signify bravery, loyalty and purity. The committee approved the design and the design for a Republic seal which Stewart had drawn on the same piece of vellum. President Lamar approved both on January 25, 1839. When Texas became a state in 1845, the seal was modified and adopted as the state seal, along with the adoption of the Lone Star Flag as the state flag. The Heritage Museum of Montgomery County in Conroe has a replica of this vellum on display. The original is housed at the Texas State Archives. The House of Representatives of the 75th Texas Legislature adopted House Resolution #1123 proclaiming Montgomery County as Birthplace of the Lone Star Flag, which was signed by Governor George Bush on May 30, 1997. Today, the flag is flown proudly in Montgomery County as a symbol of the strength, aspiration, bravery and loyalty of Texas’ early settlers.

Directions:
This letterbox is located in Montgomery, Texas at Montgomery New Cemetery near the grave of Dr. Charles B. Stewart. From I-45 at Conroe, take Highway 105 about 15 miles west to Montgomery. Continue west past the intersection of highways 105 and 149. Look for the Post Office on your left. Turn left at the next street, Old Plantersville Rd. Go one block to the cemetery on your right.

To the box:
Turn right just before the cemetery fence and park on the right. Walk down the road into the cemetery and face left toward the front of the cemetery. There are two plots which are enclosed by iron fences. In the northern-most one is an obelisk marker. This is Dr. Stewarts grave. Look, then, toward the northeast corner of the cemetery and you will see a multi-trunk tree that has grown up around several iron fence posts. The box is among the tree trunks and fence posts covered with a brick. Please make sure the box is securely closed. Replace it as you found it, with the brick on top. Thanks!