April 3, 2025<\/span><\/p>\nBy: John Pantalone, Newport This Week<\/strong><\/p>\nJust about everybody will be getting into the act, but the New\u00adport Historical Society seems first in line with plans for a rousing 250th anniversary celebration of the Declaration of Independence under the banner, \u201cTwo Lights for Liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The society has announced plans for events beginning this year and extending through 2026 to mark the founding of the United States. It starts April 18 with a fundraising cocktail party at the Colony House, the site of Rhode Island\u2019s declara\u00adtion of independence two months before the joint declaration on July 4. From there, it will extend to a variety of public programs, exhibi\u00adtions and events.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn one sense, we\u2019re doing what we do every day,\u201d said Rebecca Bertrand, NHS executive director. \u201cWe\u2019re sharing Newport\u2019s im\u00adportant history, and specifically the role it played in the Revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo Lights for Liberty\u201d refers to the national movement to mark the 250th by putting lights in windows, as was done on the night of Paul Revere\u2019s famous ride warning \u201cThe British are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event coincides with a na\u00adtional initiative to commemorate Revere\u2019s ride. As state houses across the country put two lights on display, NHS will light up the Colony House and officially kick off the celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want these events to be as accessible as possible for the entire community,\u201d Bertrand said. \u201cWe really want to make more people aware of Newport\u2019s crucial role in the Revolutionary War. The history is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ongoing programs include a monthly series of \u201cTavern Talks,\u201d the first taking place on April 10 at NHS headquarters. Historian and author Charlotte Carrington-Farmer will examine the role of Mary Williams, the wife of Roger Williams, and the influence of women before the Revolution.<\/p>\n
On April 19, designated a Na\u00adtional Day of Service, NHS will host a Touch-a-Truck Food Drive to benefit the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center. Guests are encouraged to bring non-perish\u00adable food items and personal care products to the Society\u2019s Richard I. Burnham Resource Center on Touro Street from 10 a.m. to noon.<\/p>\n
On May 9, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Laurence \u201cRick\u201d Atkinson will speak at the Colony House, the fourth oldest state house still standing and a significant site of Revolutionary activity. Atkinson is the author of a planned Amer\u00adican Revolution Trilogy. His work illuminates Newport\u2019s role in the Franco-American Alliance that led to the end of the war and America\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n
Bertrand said Newport\u2019s deep connection to French military com\u00admanders played a significant role in the turning point of the war.<\/p>\n
As a central part of the celebra\u00adtion, NHS will host an exhibition, \u201cNewport 1775: Whose Side Are You On?\u201d from May through De\u00adcember. The exhibition will tell the stories of six historical Newport figures and the choices they made during the Revolution. It will also explore the human cost of the Rev\u00adolution for those who fought for in\u00addependence and those who stayed loyal to the king.<\/p>\n
Bertrand said the interactive exhibition will also illustrate the role of media in shaping public opinion and trust. The exhibition is designed so visitors can follow their own path and think about how they may have felt and acted at the time when you are forced to choose sides. On May 22, the exhibition curator, Don Johnson, will lecture on the divisions and shifting loyalties in Newport on the eve of the war.<\/p>\n
The celebration will also add to its list of guided and self-directed tours a series focused on areas of Newport specific to the region\u2019s role in the Revolutionary War. Sites will include areas illustrating the British occupation of Newport, the role of French military leaders and others. Beginning the first week of April, the society will offer daily self-guided QR-code tours of the Colony House, including one for children.<\/p>\n
A free annual event, \u201cThe French in Newport,\u201d commemorates the French role in Newport over a two-day period in mid-July. Spon\u00adsored in part by the National Parks Service and the Washington-Ro\u00adchambeau National Historic Trail, the \u201cliving history\u201d weekend has historic re-enactors portraying fig\u00adures like George and Martha Wash\u00adington, the Marquis de Lafayette and the head of the French army, Comte de Rochambeau.<\/p>\n
To learn more about NHS\u2019s 250th celebrations, visit newporthistory.org.<\/p>\n
View this story online here: https:\/\/www.newportthisweek.com\/articles\/newport-historical-society-leads-250th-celebration\/<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
April 3, 2025 By: John Pantalone, Newport This Week Just about everybody will be getting into the act, but the New\u00adport Historical Society seems first in line with plans for a rousing 250th anniversary celebration of the Declaration of Independence under the banner, \u201cTwo Lights for Liberty.\u201d The society has announced plans for events beginning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12032],"tags":[37460,5169,5801,15102,13432,3924,1619],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-171652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-history","tag-250th","tag-celebration","tag-historical","tag-leads","tag-newport","tag-society","tag-week"],"yoast_head":"\n
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