47-star flag The prize item in the collection is a 47-star
U. S. flag.
New Mexico was admitted to the union as the 47th state on January 6, 1912, followed by
Arizona as the 48th state on February 14, 1912. The
Flag Act of 1818 specifies "That on the admission of every new state into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag; and that such addition shall take effect of the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission." On July 4, 1912, the official flag design jumped from 46 to 48 stars, and there never was an official 47-star flag. The provenance of the museum's 47-star flag is unknown, although it presumably was manufactured to celebrate
New Mexico's entry into the Union. The curator at the Palace, Diana De Santis, researched the subject and also found a reported 47-star flag in the collection of the
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in
Baltimore, Maryland.
Other museum features The museum collection holds personal accounts, relics and photographs of local history. It holds a bison trophy head, a collection of pottery from the
La Luz Pottery Factory, and artifacts from prehistoric
Native American tribes that were found in caves above Alamogordo. The museum gift shop sells all TBHS publications and many other local history titles. There is a collection of local history books and documents that visitors can use inside the museum. The museum originally shared a building with the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce at 1301 N. White Sands Blvd. In 2006 the City of Alamogordo received a $300,000 grant from the State Legislature to buy a historic adobe building at the corner of White Sands Blvd. and Tenth Street as a new home for the museum. but as of July 2008 this plan has stalled due to lack of money to renovate the building. The museum is now located in that renovated historic adobe building (2022.) ==Tularosa Basin Historical Society==