Justin Strevig has a title most New Hampshire small business owners would never dare put on a business card. It says, simply, “The Flagman.” And as the United States barrels toward its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, that title is starting to look less like a gimmick and more like a job description for one of the busiest retailers in the Granite State. According to a feature published Monday by New Hampshire Public Radio, Strevig’s Concord shop, Flag-Works Over America, is in the middle of what he calls “peak flag season,” with homeowners, towns, and government agencies all racing to put new colors up before the semiquincentennial.

For a state whose tourism economy leans heavily on patriotic optics, parades, and small-town pride, the surge inside one Concord storefront is more than a quirky retail story. It is a window into how the 250th anniversary is reshaping demand on Main Streets across New Hampshire, from the flagpole at the volunteer fire department to the welcome banner over the Memorial Day route. And it is happening fast enough that Strevig says his shelves are emptying in real time.

The Flagman, By Trade

Strevig is not new to the business. He bought Flag-Works Over America from a longtime racquetball buddy who had run the company for more than two decades, NHPR reported. His predecessor had already made some defining product decisions, including a long-standing choice not to sell the Confederate battle flag. Strevig kept that policy in place. What changed under his ownership is the depth of the catalog. Walking into the Concord showroom now is, as the NHPR profile put it, like browsing “a library of American opinions,” with U.S. flags, state flags, military flags, international flags, garden flags, political flags, and historical banners hanging from the ceiling and stuffed into pen cups on the counter.

His vocabulary matches the inventory. Strevig drops flag lingo like a sommelier discusses wine, throwing around words like the canton, the fly-end, the hoist, and the halyard. He wears an American-flag blazer to events. The “Flagman” label is partly branding, partly identity, but the speed of his current business is what is putting both to the test.

Why The 250th Is Different

Flags always move in late spring. New Hampshire homeowners tend to refresh banners ahead of Memorial Day, then run them through Independence Day, which gives any flag retailer a predictable annual bump. What is different in 2026 is the size of the lift on the high-ticket end of the catalog. Strevig told NHPR that flag sales are “a slight increase over previous years,” but flagpoles are “flying off the shelves.”

That distinction matters. A nylon flag is a $30 to $60 purchase. A residential flagpole installation is a several-hundred-dollar commitment that involves digging, pouring concrete, and hauling lengths of white fiberglass into a customer’s yard. Strevig said he has been installing roughly four flagpoles per week since the ground thawed, and the map of New Hampshire on his shop wall, into which he sticks a small flag-shaped pin for every pole he installs, is filling up faster than he expected. People who told themselves for years they would “someday” put up a proper pole are using the 250th as the deadline that finally gets them off the couch.

A Revolutionary-War Revival On The Sales Floor

The other surprise in Flag-Works Over America’s 2026 numbers is the sudden appetite for historical flags most consumers had never heard of two years ago. Strevig told NHPR that lesser-known Revolutionary banners are now among his best sellers. The Bennington flag, with its 13 stars arranged around a giant numeral 76, is moving briskly. So is the Gadsden flag, the yellow banner showing a coiled rattlesnake above the words “Don’t tread on me.” A green-and-blue flag flown by Vermont troops during the Revolution is also drawing fresh interest from buyers who want to fly something more historically grounded than a generic stars and stripes.

One Revolutionary design has become an outright phenomenon. According to NHPR, a Betsy Ross variant produced for the 250th anniversary, with 13 stars in a circle, has outsold the official America 250 design itself. That is a notable result. The America 250 Commission designed its commemorative banner specifically for this anniversary cycle, and even with national branding behind it, customers in Concord are reaching past it to grab the older design they associate more strongly with the founding moment.

The Politics That Keep Walking In The Door

Running a flag store in 2026 is not a politically neutral business, and Strevig is open about that. He told NHPR he tries to stock what he calls “official flags,” from federal designs to state and military banners, in an effort to stay out of the partisan crossfire. But he also stocks party flags for both Republicans and Democrats, and in 2024 he sold both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris banners. He drew a line at “Let’s go Brandon” flags disparaging then-President Joe Biden, telling NHPR he chose not to carry them.

He also stocks the rainbow flag and the pride progress flag, and he has heard from customers who think he should pull both. His response is to keep them on the shelves. “The U.S. flag offends some people. The pride flag offends some other people. I’m selling them. They’re all real flags. They’re real messages. We try to honor that,” he told NHPR. Strevig said he has heard the argument that “the political right now owns the U.S. flag and the left side feels like they can no longer fly the U.S. flag,” and he is hoping the 250th cuts against that drift. “The U.S. flag is about us,” he said. “It’s not about us-versus-them.”

That framing puts Flag-Works Over America in line with the broader bicentennial farm story New Hampshire has been telling itself in 2026, a year in which the state has leaned on its founding-era heritage as connective tissue across an otherwise polarized political map.

What This Says About New Hampshire’s 250th Economy

Strevig’s busy spring is one of the clearest small business indicators yet that the 250th anniversary is going to be a meaningful economic event for New Hampshire, not just a ceremonial one. The state’s tourism office expects elevated visitation throughout the summer of 2026, driven by patriotic travel patterns, town parades, and history-focused itineraries through Revolutionary-era sites in the Seacoast. Retailers who sell into that demand, from flag shops to monument restoration outfits to costume rental businesses, are reporting some of their strongest spring books in years.

Towns are also driving demand on the institutional side. Strevig told NHPR he has been installing poles for municipalities and government agencies, not just homeowners. School districts, fire stations, and town offices that delayed flag and pole upgrades for years, the same kinds of institutions making local news for everything from the high school assassins game that just landed in Concord to monument upgrades, are now using the semiquincentennial as the justification line for replacing tired equipment with new gear in time for July 4, 2026. That kind of catch-up spending is short-term, but it sweeps a lot of capital expenditure into a single calendar quarter.

Flag retailers nationally have reported similar pressure, but New Hampshire has a structural advantage. With no general sales tax, the state pulls flag and pole shoppers from across the Massachusetts and Vermont borders, particularly for higher-ticket items where the saved sales tax begins to offset the drive. Strevig’s pin-studded map of pole installations does not stop at the state line, and his foot traffic does not either.

The story Flag-Works Over America is telling about 2026 is not the story of a brand-new patriotism. It is the story of an old patriotism whose customers finally got around to upgrading the hardware. For Strevig, the only complication is keeping the right inventory on the shelves long enough to sell it. As he told NHPR, almost every week he runs into the same problem. “Oh, no, we just sold out of this flag.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the semiquincentennial?

The semiquincentennial is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which falls on July 4, 2026. The federal America 250 Commission has coordinated commemorative events, branding, and educational programming around the milestone. New Hampshire, as one of the original 13 colonies, is a focal point for the anniversary, with planned events ranging from Revolutionary War reenactments to historical exhibits.

Where is Flag-Works Over America located?

Flag-Works Over America is based in Concord, New Hampshire, and serves customers across the state and the broader New England region. The store carries U.S. flags, state flags, international flags, military and historical flags, garden flags, and political banners, and offers residential and commercial flagpole installation services.

Which historical flag is selling best ahead of America's 250th?

According to owner Justin Strevig, a Betsy Ross-style flag produced for the 250th anniversary, featuring 13 stars in a circle, has outsold the official America 250 commemorative design at his Concord shop. Other strong sellers include the Bennington flag with the numeral 76 and the Gadsden "Don't tread on me" flag, both of which date to the Revolutionary War era.

Does Flag-Works Over America sell controversial flags?

Strevig has said he tries to stock "official flags" to avoid partisan crossfire, but his catalog reflects a broad American spectrum. He carries rainbow and pride progress flags despite some customer pushback, party flags for both Republicans and Democrats, and historical banners that have been adopted by various political movements. He does not stock the Confederate battle flag or "Let's go Brandon" banners.

Why are flagpole installations spiking in New Hampshire?

The 250th anniversary of American independence is prompting homeowners, towns, and government agencies to upgrade their flag displays in time for Memorial Day and July 4, 2026. Strevig said he has been installing roughly four flagpoles per week since the ground thawed, with municipalities using the anniversary as the deadline for replacing aging equipment. New Hampshire's lack of a general sales tax also draws flagpole buyers from Massachusetts and Vermont.

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