When American revolutionaries signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, they noted “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
And, as Vermont’s new 250th Anniversary Commission hopes, that everyone has the chance to commemorate the nation’s semiquincentennial next year.
The commission, established by Gov. Phil Scott under the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, is encouraging the state’s 247 cities and towns to plan local events for 2026.
“For the duration of the American Revolutionary War, between 1775 and 1783, Vermonters played a significant role in the Colonists’ assertion for independence from Great Britain,” Scott wrote in an executive order creating the commission in 2020.
Historians cite such examples as the Green Mountain Boys militia capturing Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775, the fortification of Orwell’s Mount Independence in 1776, the Battle of Hubbardton in July 1777 and the Battle of Bennington in August 1777.
State organizers, working alongside the congressional-created U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, aren’t producing their own events but instead promoting local efforts.
“Most towns and cities across Vermont have just started the process, but there are several that already have done quite a bit of planning,” said Megan Albert, the state commission’s event coordinator.
Fort Ticonderoga in neighboring New York, for example, is offering a Feb. 4 webinar titled “An Introduction to Classroom Resources for the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution” with the help of the Vermont Historical Society, Burlington’s Ethan Allen Homestead and Vergennes’ Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.
Several Bennington County organizations are set to join a May 2-4 “Lead-up to America’s First Victory” commemoration featuring talks, reenactments and tours of historic sites.
Windham County groups held a planning meeting in Brattleboro this month to solicit public suggestions.
“We’re all here now, 250 years later, still trying to perfect the union,” meeting moderator Lissa Weinmann said. “We invite you to find creative ways to reflect and represent where we’ve been, but more importantly, where we are going, and how to share that vision.”
The state commission is promoting such local events on its website, which also includes information about $1,000 planning grants, book lists and other educational links.
“We’re trying to provide as many resources as possible,” Albert said.