Denville residents looking to mark the nation’s 250th birthday have a free, family-friendly option a short drive away next week.
Morris County will join a nationwide reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8, on the front lawn of the historic Morris County Courthouse at 56 Washington St. in Morristown. The program begins at 5:45 p.m., and the reading starts promptly at 6 p.m., the same moment communities in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. territories will read the document together.
County commissioners and constitutional officers, including Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Sheriff James M. Gannon, County Clerk Ann F. Grossi, and Surrogate Heather J. Darling, will each read an assigned portion. The Colonial Musketeers Senior Ancient Fife and Drum Corps of Hackettstown will perform, and the historic courthouse bell will ring 13 times just before the reading begins.
The ceremony marks July 8, 1776, when the Declaration was first read publicly in Philadelphia and later that same day in Trenton. After the reading, attendees can grab a complimentary Bomb Pop, view the county’s 250th Traveling Mural, and tour a special anniversary exhibit inside the courthouse.
The event caps the county’s weeklong “Light to Unite” campaign, which encouraged residents to light up homes and landmarks in red, white, and blue. It will be livestreamed on the Morris County Facebook page, and rain moves the ceremony into the historic courtroom on the second floor.
