On Saturday, June 30, The Friends of Colonial Pemaquid will host a memorable celebration of our country’s 242nd Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The event will be held at the Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site in New Harbor and will begin at 2 .pm. There will be a public reading and commentary led by living history interpreter Don Loprieno, with a portrayal of historic figures who supported or opposed the American Revolution. There is no charge for the program, though donations are appreciated. The rain date is scheduled for Sunday, July 1.

Our country’s Independence was fought long before 1776. When armed conflict between bands of American colonists and British soldiers began in April 1775, the Americans were ostensibly fighting only for their rights as subjects of the British crown. By the following summer, with the Revolutionary War in full swing, the movement for independence from Britain had grown, and delegates of the Continental Congress were faced with a vote on the issue. In mid-June 1776, a five-man committee including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin was tasked with drafting a formal statement of the colonies’ intentions. The Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence–written largely by Jefferson–in Philadelphia on July 2, and was first printed on July 4, a date now celebrated as the birth of American independence.

While on site, visitors are encouraged to experience English Frontier settlement life in the New World during the 17^th and 18^th centuries by visiting a reconstructed fort with permanent exhibit, archaeological ruins, cemetery, artifact museum, and a recreation of a 17^th century thatched roof cottage. Colonial Pemaquid Historic State Site is open daily, 9 am to 5 pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day.

For more information about The Friends of Colonial Pemaquid, a volunteer organization now in its 25^th year, see www.friendsofcolonialpemaquid.org. For directions or additional information, call the park ranger at 207-677-2423.

Directions: Colonial Pemaquid is located off Route 130, 12 miles south of Route 1 and three miles north of the Pemaquid Lighthouse. On Route 130 from Damariscotta r, turn right onto Huddle Road and follow signs to Colonial Pemaquid. From Route 32in New Harbor, turn left onto Route 130 and then immediately right onto Snowball Hill Road, following signs to Colonial Pemaquid. The Contented Sole Restaurant is on site adjacent to the museum.