(The Center Square) – North Carolina, first of the colonial governments to call for complete independence from Great Britain through the Halifax Resolves, has events this month in conjunction with the nation’s celebration of its 250th anniversary.
Events are already underway, including Wednesday in Fayetteville. Western and eastern sides of the state have events a week from Saturday. These and more from Murphy to Manteo are at the North Carolina General Assembly’s link dedicated to the “semiquincentennial.”
“The America’s Semiquincentennial Committee for North Carolina is committed to commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States by highlighting North Carolina’s pivotal role in the nation’s founding and development,” the NCLeg.gov site says.
The committee will hold public events to provide information and education about the history of the state’s involvement with the American Revolution including the battles fought in North Carolina.
The state flag has two dates. April 12, 1776, is representative of the Halifax Resolves. Whereas the dozen other colonial governments wanted self-governance within the British empire, the Resolves ordered North Carolinians in the second Continental Congress to vote for complete independence from Great Britain.
This was pivotal for instruction of Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence.
The May 20, 1775, date is for the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, what is believed to be the first group of colonists declaring freedom from British rule.
“We are dedicated to exploring and preserving the unique stories of North Carolina’s towns, counties, and communities whose histories contribute to the broader American experience,” the committee states. “Our mission is to foster a deeper appreciation of North Carolina’s contributions to American history and to encourage a spirit of reflection and pride as we mark this historic milestone.”
On Wednesday, the Liberty Tree 250th ceremony was scheduled in Fayetteville at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation.
Others are as soon as next weekend, such as the July 26 Pioneer Heritage Festival in Clyde at the Haywood County History Museum in Waynesville. There is also an event at the House in the Horseshoe in Sanford.
The house, named for its location in near a horseshoe-shaped bend in the Deep River, was constructed around 1770 and owned by a man named Philip Alston, one of the colonists seeking independence from Great Britain.
It was attacked by pro-British forces in 1781.
The Mecklenburg Historical Society will hold events to commemorate the Mecklenburg County Declaration of Independence.
“Mecklenburg was the first government body in America to declare independence from the Crown of England,” the historical society says on its website.
The declaration states, “We do hereby declare ourselves a free and independent people, are, and of right ought to be, a sovereign and self–governing Association, under the control of no power other than that of our God and the General Government of the Congress; to the maintenance of which independence, we solemnly pledge to each other, our mutual co-operation, our lives, our fortunes, and our most sacred honor.”
America 250 NC is a website hosted by the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. It notes a discussion is planned Thursday at Fort Macon in Atlantic Beach on the Battle of Beaufort.
More events follow this week and throughout the next 12 months.
