The story of Betsy Ross's life is one of triumph over adversity.  She was disowned by the Quakers. She lost one husband to an explosion at a munitions depot that he was guarding.  Her second husband died in a British prison.   She survived her third husband, who was sick for many years.  She had seven daughters, two of whom died in infancy.  But she maintained an upholstery business through it all.  It was this business that brought visitors, including George Washington, to her door to ask her to make the first American Flag.

Betsy Ross (1752-1836) lived and worked in this house during and after the American Revolution.  The house where she boarded with the elderly Widow Lithgow has been restored to early 1777.  Walk through the wrought-iron gates to behold the courtyard, where originally another house stood.  As you enter the gates turn left to view Betsy's grave.  She was originally buried in Philadelphia's Mount Moriah.  It was decided to move her grave here after the house was restored.  She is buried with her third husband, John Claypoole.

Betsy Ross never owned this house, but rented between the years 1773 and 1786.  The house was build about 1740 and consists of 2 1/2 floors and nine rooms.  Betsy and her husband, John Ross, lived here and ran their upholstery business out of the house as well.  After Betsy moved from here in 1786, other businesses occupied the house until it was acquired by the Betsy Ross Memorial Association.  Starting in 1898, two million Americans donated dimes to the Association to help convert the house from a time-worn building into a national shrine.  In the 1920's, as the neighborhood declined, serious consideration was given to moving the structure to Fairmount Part, not only for it's safety, but because of the severe risk of fire posed by two adjacent factories.  Today those factories are gone. 

In 1937 the building was donated to the city of Philadelphia, and was completely restored with the help of millionaire Atwater Kent.