A Local Guide to the 250th
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, communities are preparing to reflect on the Revolution and the founding ideals that shaped the nation.
The American Revolution can sometimes feel distant—something confined to textbooks, battlefields, and famous quotations. But in Central Virginia, the Revolution remains part of the landscape. From Monticello and Highland to Montpelier and the river town of Scottsville, historic places across the area are interpreting the Revolution and its aftermath in new ways.
The statewide effort is coordinated by the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission, known as VA250, which is guiding a decade-long series of programs, exhibitions, and events across the Commonwealth. The goal is not only to revisit the Revolution, but to explore its full and complex legacy.
Locally, the VA250 effort is coordinated by the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau, linking local museums, historic sites, and community organizations in the statewide commemoration. The initiative highlights the region’s Revolutionary history while emphasizing a broader and more inclusive interpretation of the era.
JEFFERSON’S MONTICELLO
VA250 programming at Monticello highlights three intertwined themes: Jefferson’s role in the American Revolution and early republic, the lived experiences of the enslaved community who made life on the mountain possible, and the continuing work of citizenship symbolized by the site’s annual Independence Day naturalization ceremony.
The July 4 celebration is one of Monticello’s signature events. This Independence Day, new Americans will again gather on the West Lawn to take the oath of citizenship, continuing a tradition that began here in 1963. The ceremony includes remarks by a keynote speaker, musical performances, and the formal proceedings led by federal officials.
Summer programming also aligns with the national Civic Season, the period from Juneteenth through July 4 that encourages reflection on the nation’s founding ideals. Recently, Monticello has hosted programs such as the “Founding Friends, Founding Foes” tour examining Jefferson’s complex relationship with John Adams, along with discussions, readings, and food-focused events that explore the social and political culture of the founding era.
PEN TO PAPER
On May 2, 2026, Monticello’s West Lawn will host an event that explores the words that launched a nation. “Pen to Paper: The Civic Gospel of the Declaration of Independence,” part of the statewide VA250 commemoration, invites the public to revisit the Declaration not only as a historic document but as a living statement of democratic ideals.
The afternoon program will include a shared public reading of the Declaration along with remarks from Monticello President and CEO Jane Kamensky and VA250 honorary chair Carly Fiorina. Musical performances by Virginia musician Horace Scruggs and a poetry reading by former Virginia Poet Laureate Tim Seibles will add contemporary voices to the historic setting.
The event also marks the launch of Declare: A Civic Gospel, a collaborative publishing project between Monticello and Arion Press that reexamines the language and legacy of the Declaration 250 years after its adoption.
Following the program, Monticello will stage a performance of Jefferson and Adams, a play dramatizing the long friendship and rivalry between the two founding figures.
MADISON’S MONTPELIER
A visit to James Madison’s Montpelier offers a compelling way to connect Revolutionary history with the creation of the Constitution. A day on the grounds reveals how Madison’s Piedmont estate fits into the larger story of America’s founding.
“Highlights of Montpelier” tours, offered most Thursdays through Sundays, introduce Madison’s life and his central role in drafting the Constitution in 1787, while also tracing the political debates that helped define the young republic. Afterward, take time to wander the surrounding landscape: the formal grounds, archaeological sites, and Madison’s small garden temple, where views across the countryside offer a reminder that ideas debated in Philadelphia took shape in places like this.
“The Mere Distinction of Color” is Montpelier’s exhibition exploring slavery at the site. Through documents, oral histories, and multimedia interpretation, the exhibition confronts the gap between the Revolution’s promises of liberty and the realities experienced by the enslaved community who lived and worked here. Visitors can explore the South Yard and plantation work areas, where guided Enslaved Community Tours are offered on select dates. Even without a tour, the site map allows for a meaningful self-guided visit, followed by a walk along Montpelier’s wooded trails.
Throughout 2026, Montpelier will also host Constitution-focused programs, including its annual Constitution Day celebration in September.
MONROE’S HIGHLAND
James Monroe’s Highland offers a distinctive lens on the American Revolution’s aftermath. The historic farm and landscape highlights what historians often call the Revolution’s “second generation”—the leaders who fought for independence and later shaped the young republic.
Highland is using the statewide Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission commemoration to spotlight Monroe’s Revolutionary roots while connecting his career to the broader story of the nation’s founding. A young officer wounded at the Battle of Trenton, Monroe would go on to serve as diplomat, secretary of state, and president during the “Era of Good Feelings.”
Interpretive programs and exhibitions emphasize how the ideals of independence evolved during Monroe’s lifetime. Through installations such as Highland’s Viewpoints exhibit and its “Window to a New America” themes, visitors are invited to consider how questions about liberty, expansion, and political identity unfolded in the decades after 1776.
REVOLUTION ON THE RIVER
Along the James River, the historic town of Scottsville offers a river-centered chapter of Albemarle County’s Revolutionary story. Once the county’s early seat of government and an active port on the James, Scottsville played an important logistical role during the era of independence.
Today, the Scottsville Museum anchors the town’s participation in the statewide VA250 commemoration, highlighting how interior communities along the river supported the Revolutionary cause. Exhibits explore Scottsville’s beginnings as Scott’s Landing, a ferry crossing and bateaux port where tobacco moved downriver toward Richmond and imported goods traveled back inland to local farms and plantations.
The museum also interprets a dramatic moment from the war’s closing months. In June 1781, British cavalry under Banastre Tarleton swept through central Virginia searching for Continental supplies after a raid on Charlottesville. Scottsville’s courthouse area and river landings were among the locations they hoped to reach.
As part of the Charlottesville-Albemarle VA250 effort, the museum links this James River legacy to the Revolutionary landscape through exhibits, lectures, and walking tours.
HISTORY ON WHEELS
A 90‑foot tractor‑trailer has become one of the most visible symbols of Virginia’s 250th. Branded the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience and titled “Out of Many, One,” the traveling exhibit unfolds into a walk‑through gallery that brings the Revolution to parking lots, fairgrounds, and courthouse squares across the Commonwealth. Inside, visitors move past touchscreens, archival images, and short films that trace Virginia’s role from early protests through Yorktown, with stops along the way for George Washington, James Madison, Patrick Henry, and a wider cast of Indigenous Virginians, free and enslaved African Americans, women, and other participants who rarely show up in textbook timelines.
The museum rolls into town on April 13-15, parking on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall for Founders Day and Jefferson’s Birthday.
BIG EVENTS AROUND VIRGINIA
VA250’s “America Made in Virginia Signature Event Series,” highlights the Commonwealth’s central role in the nation’s founding. Launching at Colonial Williamsburg, the series will bring together communities, educators, and historic institutions to explore the nation’s full story and inspire civic engagement. Featuring events, exhibitions, and programs at many of Virginia’s most iconic historic sites, the series will feature voices and stories that broaden the understanding of the American experience.
“Virginia has always been the crucible of the nation. Two hundred and fifty years ago was not the beginning of an idea, but the moment it came into sharp focus—shaped by years of debate, experience, and sacrifice. The Declaration of Independence has stood as our beacon ever since, challenging each generation not just to celebrate liberty, but to uphold it,” says Carly Fiorina, VA250 National Honorary Chair.
“The America Made In Virginia Signature Event Series is an invitation to look fully and unafraid into the mirror of our past, to tell the whole story, and for each of us to recommit to the enduring work of citizenship, towards a more perfect union,” says Fiorina.
America’s Semiquincentennial Celebration: Inspiring a Season of Civic Renewal
April 24 at Colonial Williamsburg
Pen to Paper: The Civic Gospel of the Declaration of Independence
May 2 at Monticello
The Flame of Revolution: 250th Anniversary of the 5th Virginia Convention
May 15–16, 2026 at Colonial Williamsburg
Virginia Resolved: A Commemoration of Independence — 250th Anniversary of the Lee Resolution for Independence
June 7, 2026 at Stratford Hall
George Washington: A Revolutionary Life, celebrating the new education center
June 2026 at Mount Vernon
Freedom Flows on the Potomac: Celebrating 250 Years of the Virginia Declaration of Rights
June 12–14, 2026 at George Mason’s Gunston Hall & Old Town Alexandria
Sail250® Virginia: Goodwill Tour with International Fleet of Tall Ships
June 12–14, 2026 at Yorktown, Hampton, Richmond, Onancock, Smithfield, and Alexandria
June 19–23, 2026 at Cape Charles, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Norfolk
Juneteenth
Virginians are invited to attend Juneteenth events and programs throughout the state exploring the African American journey toward freedom. Learn more at VA250.org/Juneteenth.
June 2026
Independence Day
On July 4, 2026, the Commonwealth will host a landmark day of celebration beginning with a Naturalization Ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The day will culminate that evening at Colonial Williamsburg with America Made In Virginia: 250 Years Together, a free two-hour live event and telecast featuring stirring performances from outstanding American artists and a fireworks display for the ages.
African Landing Day Commemoration
August 2026 at Fort Monroe, Hampton
Kings Mountain (Barter Theatre production)
September 17–October 31, 2026 at Barter Theatre, Abingdon
First Virginia General Assembly: 250th Anniversary
October 7 at Colonial Williamsburg
250th Anniversary of the Historic First Baptist Church
October 9 at Colonial Williamsburg
Visit va250.org for more information.