The Worcester family, best known for starting the nonprofit Wreaths Across America, revealed their plans for the Flagpole of Freedom Park last year. The park will contain 55 memorial parks organized by state and territory, and each of the parks will have memorial walls with the names of every veteran in history displayed. This park will also be the only landmark located in the United States that honors all of the American veterans who have died over the last 250 years, regardless of the length of their service or whether or not they died in service. The Flagpole of Freedom Park proposal says it is not a theme park or an adventure park. It is an immersive, tech-driven museum, unlike anything that currently exists in our country today. Flagpole of Freedom Park is an educational venture that will humanize and personalize the stories of American veterans, provide an immersive experience to learn about American history and teach future generations about the milestones and moments that have shaped our nation’s history. The park and memorial walls will be free to the public, with optional areas that will offer educational experiences and entertainment that will be available for admission with a purchased ticket. The park will also offer four-season outdoor recreation opportunities such as hiking and biking trails, cross-country skiing, and sledding.
The plans for the park also include six museums of history along with the Village of Old Glory, which will contain restaurants, hotels, cafes, shops, and a 4000-seat venue that will be used for events. There will also be a 450-foot-tall POW/MIA flag. The flagpole for the park will be 1,461 feet tall, taller than the Empire State Building in New York City. The flagpole will also have a tower with two observation decks and multiple floors containing museum, convention, theater, and retail space, with the flag the size of one and a half football fields. The observation decks will have 360-degree panoramic views. This will be the world's largest American flag and the first flag the sun will hit in the continental US. The plan is to have phase one of the park open on July 4, 2026, in honor of America's 250th birthday.
The park will be located on 2,500 acres of land in Washington County owned by the Worcester family. Washington County is located on the coast in Downeast Maine and is an hour away from Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. Some of the park will be located in the small town of Columbia Falls, which has only 476 residents.
While the park has supporters, there are those against it because they feel it will be out of place in rural Washington County and that it will be an eyesore. There are also those who are concerned it will hurt the environment with all the extra traffic coming to the state. Supporters of the park say that it will bring needed tourist dollars to the small town. The project is expected to create 8,000 year-round jobs, create economic development for the state, and bring in $27 million in yearly tax revenue for Maine.
Currently, Columbia Falls does not have a land use ordinance, and on Tuesday night, Columbia Falls voters attended a town meeting to decide whether or not to pass a 180-day moratorium on large-scale commercial and high-density residential developments. The moratorium would allow the town time to develop standards that would apply to the Flagpole of Freedom Park. With a vote of 63 in favor of the moratorium and 17 against it, the vote in favor of the moratorium passed, and the park project will be put on hold.
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