Join Arlington 250, Arlington's State Rep. Sean Garballey, and members of Arlington Historical Society for a reading of the Declaration of Independence in "old Menotomy" on July 8th at 7:00 p.m. Replicas of Ezekiel Russell's 1776 Declaration of Independence were faithfully hand-printed using 18th century techniques and are being sent to 351 communities in Massachusetts, including Arlington.

Meet on the lawn of the Jason Russell House for the reading, which begins at 7:00 p.m. In the event of rain, event will move inside Smith Museum.

This event is part of Revolution 250’s "Declaration Delivery Day: Every City. Every Town. One Declaration." in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

This historic project recreates the original printing and distribution of the Declaration authorized by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, executed by a Salem printer and distributed by the authority of the Provincial Congress in July 1776. 250 years ago, over 300 copies of the Declaration of Independence were sent to each parish in Massachusetts and read aloud to residents by their minister.

For the first time since 1776, and with support from the William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Chair of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, each community in Massachusetts will receive its own authentic copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed as it was in 1776 by Ezekiel Russell. Revolution 250 will send the Declaration to all 351 towns and cities in Massachusetts before July 4, 2026. Arlington recently received its copy.

Town and state officials receive their copy of the Declaration of Independence, from left to right: Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director, Julie Wayman; Representative Sean Garballey; Town Manager Jim Feeney; Representative David M. Rodgers; Deputy Town Manager/Operations, Christine Bongiorno; and Select Board Chair, John Hurd.

This statewide initiative is unique to Massachusetts and honors the Commonwealth's role as one of the thirteen original colonies and one of the earliest proponents for American independence.

The replicated documents will be created by the Edes and Gill Print Shop, a reconstructed 18th-century printing press utilizing the same purpose molden movable type of the 18th century. Each copy will be printed on a cotton-linen blend paper produced one sheet at a time by Twinrocker Paper of Brookston, Indiana. Gary Gregory, a local Massachusetts resident and leading expert in printing history, will create each copy using a custom-made type with approximately 10,000 pieces.


Renowned historical printer Gary Gregory holds one of the printed copies of the Declaration of Independence at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill on Friday, June 12. (Photo Courtesy Revolution 250)