While cleaning for their annual fair, among the cobwebs and dust, community members in Waseca County, Minnesota, spotted an enormous parcel wrapped in oil cloth tucked into the eaves of a historic cabin on display inside a fairgrounds hall. “What’s that?” the county commissioner asked the other volunteers. The item was carefully taken down and unwrapped, revealing 13 vast swaths of red and white fabric, each nearly a foot and a half wide.

Long hidden and forgotten, the strips had been sewn into stripes and paired with a star-studded blue field, now revealing a US flag so large it could not be fully unfurled without touching the ground. Bit by bit, members of the Waseca County Historical Society are learning more about this patriotic artifact with methodical research.

Now, history sleuths in Minnesota are trying to find out where it came from, who made it and what should happen to it. About the flag This American flag, larger than the reconstructed pioneer cabin in which it was found, measuring approximately 19 by 36 feet, spans more than 680 square feet – roughly the size of a standard one-bedroom New York apartment.

So far, historical society members have determined the giant cotton broadcloth flag bears just 48 stars representing the US states – a design used only until 1959, before Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the union. The number of stars on the American flag first grew to 48 in 1912 when New Mexico and Arizona officially became states.

During the 47 years this version of the US was official, “the United States emerged from the Great Depression and World War II as one of the leading nations of the world,” the National Park Service said. Narrowing the timeline from 1912 to 1959, based on the stars, isn’t the only clue historians have to go on.

The four dozen white stars, each one larger than an outstretched hand, are carefully placed and arranged in six horizontal rows. They are affixed to the inky blue background, yet its maker(s), who apparently stitched each luminary on by hand, failed to catch all the edges on many of the stars – leaving another clue.

The massive red and white stripes that complete this enormous material mystery are machine sewn; some rows double stitched, others with a single line of stitching. “It’s very uneven, and you can tell multiple people had their hands going to make it come to life,” Elizabeth Anselmo, with the historical society, told CNN. The uneven workmanship of the double stitching suggests the giant flag was likely made by amateurs, curators with the historical society have determined.

With both hand- and machine-sewn parts, the treasured relic, historians say, therefore hails from a time when traditional handwork and modern manufacturing existed “side by side.” Though these clues have helped broadly zero in on when the flag was made, how and when it came into the possession of the historical society remains unclear. “It probably came in more than 50 years ago, and nobody that currently works here, or recently worked here, knows,” Amy Danielson, former co-director of the Waseca County History Center, told CNN. “It’s not catalogued … so that makes it more mysterious.” “Its size alone tells us it was meant to be seen. But the real question is: where was it seen, and by whom?” Danielson said.

Unraveling the clues The enormity of the flag itself indicates it was likely ceremonial and meant to be seen by many as a symbol of American patriotism. Until just this week, it had been kept rolled up and tucked away in a county fair building.

The flag had not been unfurled fully in decades. Historical society members were only able to catch small glimpses of the star-spangled banner at a time, rolling out small parts here and there, to prevent it from touching the ground below in respect of the US Flag Code.

To finally take a closer look at the massive relic, the historical society asked the local fire department for help. The plan was to hoist the massive fabric construct, but it quickly became clear that the giant flag would not be able to reexperience waving its stars and stripes in the wind, as the existing wood brace along the edge of the flag nearest the flagpole, would have needed significant reinforcement.

Determined to get a full look at the puzzling symbol of patriotism, the historical society, with help from its county commissioner, worked the phones and managed to line up more than 50 volunteers and community representatives who all gathered at the fairgrounds hall Monday morning. Among the group: elected officials, county administrators, the local fire department, the Waseca County Sheriff’s Office, including its sheriff, and of course, the historical society board – eager to further unravel their mystery.

It “felt like exactly what a community does … many hands coming in to help,” Anselmo said. “It was really beautiful to see just the sheer number of people that were able to be there.” The Waseca County Honor Guard carried the flag out of the fairgrounds hall, and with about 35 volunteers around its perimeter, the red, white and blue was fully unfurled in all its glory for the first time in decades. “It was just really incredible to stand there, shoulder to shoulder, especially with the vets that were there. It was really meaningful,” she added. “The colors were just tremendous under the sun.” Measurements were taken and each of the 13 stripes and 48 stars were accounted for.

Witnessing all 684 square feet of the flag was “pretty surreal,” Anselmo told CNN. “You really can’t grasp the size of it until you see it.” Now, the historical society hopes community members hold the final missing pieces to the mystery. “Sometimes the artifact survives, but the story has to be rebuilt by the community. We would love to know where this flag flew, what it witnessed, and why it mattered to the people who saw it,” Danielson said. “And somewhere in Waseca County, there may be someone who remembers.” Clues coming together Chasing several possible leads developed by researchers, the historical society reached out to various organizations, including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, for assistance.

Deep dives into the historical society’s archives have uncovered several photographs showing a huge flag being carried by a group in the county’s 1940 and 1942 Independence Day parades, leading to some “working theories,” Anselmo said. One image, discovered in a newspaper published on July 10, 1940, shows what the paper called a “carry flag” in that year’s Fourth of July parade. “Old Glory,” the caption reads, “took a large part in the annual Independence Day parade in Waseca when 48 children carried a 22x36 foot flag as a feature of the event.

The children, dressed in (p)atriotic colors.” That section of the parade was “conceived by Herman Peterson” and the flag was “made up under the direction of Miss Nina Clement,” the caption adds. There are some challenges in confirming the flag seen in the image from 1940 is indeed the same flag now in the historical society’s possession, including a discrepancy on the dimensions mentioned in the newspaper, Anselmo said. “However, we can’t imagine there were too many oversized 48-star flags in the county,” the historical society’s lead researcher added.

If the flag featured in the newspaper is one and the same, the two people named in the photo caption may offer clues to its provenance. Herman Peterson, mentioned in the newspaper caption, was well-known and respected in the community for his involvement with the Boy Scouts, the historical society and many other organizations, according to Anselmo.

A collector of flags and presidential memorabilia, he was married but never had children. Little is known about Nina Clement, other than that she was a teacher in the county, had eight older sisters and was never married.

As neither Peterson nor Clement had children, finding related connections could be taxing. “We will be working diligently to find out everything we can about her and potentially when and where the flag was made and who may have been involved in the project,” Anselmo said. A photo display is planned for the county’s upcoming fair, where the historical society hopes to appeal to fairgoers’ attention and enlist the sleuths of the bunch to join them in the quest to uncover the last clues that will solve the mystery.

Several photos from the historical society collection, showing the 1940 and 1942 Fourth of July parades, will be on display, and volunteers will be asking the community if they have any additional information or memories to share. “The flag’s size, condition, construction, and era all make it historically compelling,” the historical society said. “More importantly, it represents a shared symbol that would have been familiar to multiple generations — a flag that may have watched over public gatherings, wartime commemorations, school events, or civic celebrations.” The historical society’s next step will be to determine the best way to move the flag from the fairground hall to its primary museum, to safely store it in its archives. The museum building has both air conditioning and air purification systems in place to protect the flag and more than 270,000 other historical items in its care.

Perhaps in another 50 years, for America’s 300th birthday, the 48-star flag can be brought out and once again carried through the streets of Waseca the way it may have been in those Fourth of July parades of the past, Anselmo said, musing about the future. For now, learning more about the flag’s origins is the historical society’s main goal. “The value is in the stories, and that’s where we’re still looking for those from the community,” Anselmo said.