MORRISTOWN — At 5:59 p.m., the bell atop the historic Morris County Courthouse rang 13 times as about 70 people stood on the lawn outside to witness a recreation of one of the nation’s defining moments: a public reading of the Declaration of Independence exactly 250 years after Americans first heard its words read publicly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At precisely 6:00 p.m., Morris County Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw stepped to the podium and began reading the Declaration’s opening words:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…”
Spectators responded with a resounding “Huzzah!” as he concluded with the Declaration’s enduring assertion that “all men are created equal” and are endowed with the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
View more photos from the Declaration of Independence reading, or watch the livestreamed recording.
Morris County joined communities across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the United States territories in reading the Declaration of Independence at exactly 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time as part of a nationwide campaign called “Sharing the Spirit of America.” July 8 marked the 250th anniversary of when the document was first read in public in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and, later that same day, in Trenton, New Jersey.
The Morris County reading was shared by 13 public leaders in honor of the 13 original colonies. After Director Shaw, Commissioner Deputy Director John Krickus read a portion of the document, followed by Commissioners Christine Myers, Thomas J. Mastrangelo, Deborah Smith, Douglas R. Cabana and Tayfun Selen, Surrogate Heather J. Darling, County Clerk Ann F. Grossi, County Administrator Deena Leary, Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Sheriff James M. Gannon, and Assignment Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz of the Morris/Sussex Vicinage of New Jersey Courts.
State Senator Anthony M. Bucco also attended the ceremony.
The evening began with Revolutionary-era music by the Colonial Musketeers Senior Ancient Fife and Drum Corps of Hackettstown. Attendees also explored the Morris County 250th Traveling Mural, an interactive public art project by artist Dan Fenelon touring the county as part of Morris County’s Semiquincentennial programming.
Following the reading, attendees enjoyed complimentary red, white, and blue ice pops, adding a patriotic touch to the evening’s festivities.
The Declaration of Independence reading was coordinated by the Morris County Board of County Commissioners, the Morris County Heritage Commission, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, the Division of Buildings and Grounds, County Administration, and the Office of Communications and Digital Media.
The ceremony concluded another 250th Anniversary campaign, “Light to Unite,” which involved lighting up county facilities with red, white, and blue lights beginning on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress formally approved a resolution separating the colonies from Britain. The celebration of American independence in Morris County will continue with a special 250th anniversary exhibit presented by the Morris/Sussex Vicinage of New Jersey Courts inside the historic Morris County Courthouse, which was built in 1827.
The free, self-guided exhibit commemorates America’s Semiquincentennial while launching the courthouse’s 200th anniversary celebration that will take place next year. Through historic photographs, artifacts, and interpretive displays, visitors can explore more than 270 years of Morris County’s legal and civic history, tour the historic courtroom, and receive a complimentary copy of Founding Documents of the United States. The pocket pamphlet contains the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence, courtesy of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. The exhibition is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
