The Mount’s 250th Celebration

Steve Zeoli Event, Site News, History

Saturday, July 25, 2026 | 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

The Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell, VT, is honoring the 250th anniversary of its name day, July 28, 1776, and the first year of this American Revolutionary War defense with this homecoming commemoration. The site is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with special activities starting at 11:00 am and running to 3:00 pm. The event is included in regular admission ($8.00 for adults, $1 ages 6 to 16, free for under 6 and Green Mountain Passport holders).

Activities for all ages, lunch and snack offerings. (See below for the schedule.) The day starts out with a roll call of the regiments that served here in 1776, followed by a discussion with descendants of Mount Independence soldiers and others. Attendees may join in for a reading of the Declaration of Independence, for which Mount Independence was named after the document was first read to the American garrison on Lake Champlain on July 28. Short talks, children’s activities, laying out a regiment, Orwell Public Library Tale Trail along the western side of the Baldwin Trail, music, and more. Breaks between offerings. Pick what you’re interested in. Call 802-948-2000 for details.

Vermont’s official Revolutionary War Historian for Vermont’s 250th Anniversary Commission, Dr. Alexandra Garrett of St. Michael’s College, will provide keynote remarks.

This is one of many programs at Mount Independence this year honoring the 250th anniversary of Mount Independence.
Mount Independence is located at 497 Mount Independence Road, Orwell, VT. It is open daily 10 to 5. The season is extended through to October 28, 2026, to salute the day in 1776 when the strong forces here on both sides of the lake helped the British to decide to return to Canada for the winter. It is a National Historic Landmark for its significance in the American Revolution. For questions, call 802-948-2000.

Program Schedule | July 25th

Honoring the 250th anniversary of the start of Mount Independence and its name day of July 28, 1776

Throughout day: Orwell Free Library Walk a Story on the Baldwin Trail, children’s activities, laying out a regiment, building a brush hut,  Orwell artists, visiting the museum.

  • 10 am – Site opens
  • 11 am
    • Welcome
    • Reading of the July 7, 1776, Council of War
    • Roll Call of the Regiments of 1776, led by Michael Blakeslee
  • 11:45 am – Discussion, “Mount Independence Regiments of 1776 and Sharing Stories of Mount Independence Ancestors,” led by Mark Brownell
  • 12:15 pm – Break, get your lunch in picnic area
  • 12:40 pm – Reading of the Declaration of Independence (participatory)
  • 1:00 pm – Dr. Alexandra Garrett – “Beyond the Stereotypes of the American Revolution”
  • 1:45 pm Mini talks
    • “Schuyler’s Letter to Gen. Washington, Defending Decision to Build on This Strong Ground,” Stephen Zeoli 
    • “How the News of the Reading of Declaration of Independence May Have Gotten to Philadelphia,” Elsa Gilbertson
    • Historic songs with Stephen Whalen, Ph.D.  
  • 3:00 pm – Short guided trail walk, Ennis Duling
  • 3:15 pm – Illustrated talk (in auditorium), American Revolution in 1776 in New York and Pennsylvania, Paul Andriscin