Come declare your independence with us!

Declaration Day is THIS Sunday, July 19th!

Watch these short videos to learn more about what the day will bring.

All daytime activities are free and open to the public.

TIMELINE

10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Revolutionary Newburyport Comes to Life

Brown Square and downtown Newburyport | Meet soldiers, sailors, tradespeople, and townsfolk. Explore historic printing, period cooking, arts and crafts, military interpretation, maritime history, and hands-on demonstrations.

1:45 p.m. Procession to Market Square

Brown Square to Market Square | Follow dignitaries, militia, and eighteenth-century townspeople, with a ceremonial pause and musket salute near the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist Church. Best viewing location is along Inn Street.

2:00 p.m. 250th Anniversary Reading of the Declaration

Market Square | Welcome by Mayor Sean Reardon, Senator Bruce Tarr, and Governor Maura Healey; arrival of the Declaration by horse and rider; Dramatic reading by Paul Wann, Bonniejean Wilbur, and Edward Speck of Theater in the Open; and a musket salute.

3:00 p.m. Continue to the Waterfront

Market Square to the waterfront | Visitors will be directed to the Custom House lawn, boardwalk, and waterfront for the afternoon celebration.

Approx. 3:00–4:00 p.m. Historic Vessels Arrive

Newburyport boardwalk | Welcome schooners Ardelle and Isabella and pinnace Virginia as they pass the boardwalk, accompanied by musket and signal-piece salutes.

3:15–5:30 p.m. Family Activities and Demonstrations

Custom House lawn and waterfront | Enjoy steam bending, family-friendly activities, Revolutionary demonstrations, Newburyport Art Association activities, and tours of the Custom House Maritime Museum!

4:00–7:00 p.m. Historic Tattoo Demonstration

Boardwalk and Custom House lawn | Learn about tattoo traditions among sailors and maritime communities through an educational living-history presentation.

Until 5:30 p.m. Public Vessel Access

Waterfront | Three historic vessels are available to view, with interpreters present. Boarding opportunities are subject to weather, vessel capacity, accessibility, and crew direction. Dogs are not permitted aboard vessels unless they are trained service animals.

LIVING HISTORY AT A GLANCE

Featured Portrayals

- Nathaniel Tracy

- James Warren

- Lord Timothy Dexter

- Militia and Alarm List

- Newburyport Independent Artillery Company

- Marine recruitment party from the USS Boston

- Crew of the privateer Game Cock

- Tavern keepers

- Lace makers and milk maids

- Chocolate makers and milliners

- Sailmakers and shopkeepers

- Historic printing press

- Shirt makers supporting Massachusetts troops in the Continental Army

- Historic tattoo artist

- British prisoners of war

Units Represented

- 2nd Massachusetts Regiment

- 2nd New Hampshire, Cherry’s Company

- 3rd Massachusetts Regiment

- 4th Essex County Militia

- 10th Massachusetts Regiment

- 13th Continental Regiment

- Acton Minutemen

- Crane’s Artillery

- Ladies Association of Revolutionary America

- Lexington Minutemen

- Lincoln Minutemen

- Capt. Palmes’ Company of Continental Marines, frigate Boston

- Crew of the privateer Game Cock

- Sudbury Militia

- Tew’s Company

- 1st Regiment of Foot Guards

- 4th Regiment of Foot

- 10th Regiment of Foot

- 17th Regiment of Foot

- 27th Regiment of Foot

- Claus’ Rangers

Portrayals, units, demonstrations, and locations are subject to change.

Presented by the Museum of Old Newbury, Custom House Maritime Museum, Lowell's Boat Shop, City of Newburyport, Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce, Theater in the Open, Newburyport Art Association, and many community partners.

Funded in part by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, with additional sponsorship from Institution for Savings and The Deck.



Schedule subject to change because of weather, safety requirements, and vessel operations.

Adventures in the Archives: Benjamin Colman and Revolutionary Emancipation



by Sam Clewley, Post-Graduate Intern

The first page of Benjamin Colman’s “Declaration and Testimony, Together with his Complaint Against the Revd Moses Parsons…” from the Museum of Old Newbury’s Churches Collection: Byfield and West Newbury Churches.  

"In 1780, Benjamin Colman, a member of the Byfield Parish Church in Newbury, wrote his own declaration against slavery and against his pastor, Reverend Moses Parsons. In Colman’s view, the American Revolution’s violence; its “…bloddy, dreadful sword…” were evidence of God’s punishment for the continued practice of slavery in the United States. As Colman put it, “Our Land is defiled with blood…and our fingers with inequality…"  

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Community Event!

Something Is Always Cooking...

Cucumber, Dill, Feta and Pistachio Salad

My friend (who also happens to be my former husband), Adam Groff, brought a version of this salad to the house for a family celebration, and I ate it all night long. It is fresh, delicious, and both light and substantial, thanks to the feta and pistachios. The key is to add the pistachios just before serving to maintain their glorious crunch. I like to leave half of them in large pieces and use a nut grinder on the other half to ensure there is pistachio goodness on everything.

Ingredients

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons minced red onion or shallot

4 English cucumbers, or peeled garden cukes, sliced thin

4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup pistachios, half roughly chopped, half roughly ground

4 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Add apple cider vinegar and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• Once simmering, add in minced red onion or shallot and remove from the heat. Let the onion steep and cool in the vinegar for 20 minutes.
• In a large serving bowl combine the cucumbers, dill, and feta.
• Pour the onion and vinegar mixture over the top of the salad and add in the olive oil and black pepper.
• Add pistachios, toss everything together until coated then serve.

Enjoy!

Puzzle Me This...

Click the image to do the puzzle

The original pinnace Virginia was the first English ocean-going ship built in the Americas. It was built in 1607-1608 at the Popham Colony’s Fort St. George located near the mouth of the Kennebec River. This Virginia is a celebration of Maine’s 400-year tradition of shipbuilding, and will be joining us on July 19 to commemorate the reading of the Declaration of Independance in Newburyport! 



Join us and declare your independence on July 19th with us in Market Square!

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