MILFORD, PA — The Pike County Historical Society (PCHS) will host a Flag Day celebration starting at 1 p.m. on June 14 and lasting into the evening.

First, the famed Lincoln Flag, which is returning from a three-month visit to Ford’s Theater, Washington DC, will be back home and on display at The Columns Museum from 1 to 4 p.m. The blood-stained flag has been on loan to the Ford’s Theater Center for Education and Learning in Washington, DC as a part of a special exhibit to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln assassination. The exhibit brought together, for the first time ever, many of the “blood relics” connected to that fateful night in 1865. The exhibition was visited by over 30,000 people.

The Columns Museum will also unveil the new Lincoln Room, which will tell the story of the how the flag made its way to Milford back in 1888 in the possession of Jeannie Gourlay, an actress appearing on stage the night Lincoln was shot. Also of note, and temporarily on loan to the museum for the summer, is a newly discovered dress that is believed to have been worn on stage that night by Laura Keene or Jeannie Gourlay. The museum staff is still researching all of the possibilities, as the dress was handed down through generations, some of which can be traced back to the Ford’s in Baltimore.

The festivities will continue at the Water Wheel Café that evening, where PCHS will hold its annual banquet from 4 to 7 p.m. The society will be giving a nod to Mary Todd Lincoln by serving a meal consisting of Mrs. Lincoln’s favorite recipes, and a performance of the one-act play titled “Mary Todd Lincoln, a Woman on the Edge.” The role of Mary Todd will be played by Ruth Randone, actress and historical interpreter. The piece, written by the society’s director Lori Strelecki, encompasses the many thoughts and emotions of a First Lady who endured much tragedy and was misunderstood by the American public. Tickets cost $50 and can be obtained by calling 570/296-8126.