The American flag is raised for the July 4 celebration in Lake Worth in 1913 when the city was 1 year old. An Englishman who opened the city's first lunch counter is doing the flag-raising. Courtesy of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County.

The Historical Society of Palm Beach County needs your help.

For the upcoming exhibit, Snapshot 1909: Birth of a County, the Historical Society is searching for photographs and archival materials from the July 5th celebration and the Fireman’s Ball in 1909.

The formation of Palm Beach County began in 1907 with a meeting in the Free Reading Room in West Palm Beach to consider separating from Dade County. Two years later, on July 1, 1909, Palm Beach officially became a county, but the event was not celebrated until July 5 because the 4th of July fell on a Sunday that year.

Committees were organized to plan an all-day event that included baseball games and other sports, a barbecue lunch, and fireworks followed by a Fireman’s Ball.

Borrowed photos and archival material will be on view from September through December at the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum in the old courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach.

For more information, call Steve Erdmann at (561) 832-4164, Ext. 109, or e-mail serdmann@historicalsocietypbc.org. The deadline for submissions is July 15.