Maine Historical Society Launches Revolutionary Maine: America at 250 Including Statewide Tour of Declaration of Independence with New Balance as Presenting Sponsor

As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, Maine Historical Society (MHS) is launching Revolutionary Maine: America at 250. The year-long, collaborative initiative will impact hundreds of thousands of people from all backgrounds in every corner of the state through a major exhibition; educational programing; digital resources; special events; a historic Fourth of July celebration; and a 16-county tour of MHS’s copy of the Declaration of Independence that will give every Mainer the opportunity to see and experience this sacred national document.

The Declaration of Independence Tour will visit libraries, museums, and other community organizations in each of Maine’s 16 counties from July through October 2026 to give all Mainers the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the Declaration and its meaning to each of us as Mainers and Americans―and to participate in the 250th in deeply, local and meaningful ways.

“The 250 ^th provides a tremendous opportunity for Mainers to lead—to once again demonstrate our long tradition of independent thinking, respectful dialog, and standing up for common-sense values,” said Steve Bromage, Maine Historical Society Executive Director. “The ideals outlined in the Declaration are our North Star. They were not born fully-realized—that is our responsibility.”

Maine Historical Society stewards one of 26 surviving copies of the Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration printed in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, and sent to the Colonies to announce American independence.

Signature Programs and Highlights Include:

• Declaration of Independence Statewide Tour — A traveling interpretive experience visiting communities across Maine from July through October 2026, encouraging public dialogue around the words “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Tour Host Sites will be announced at the press event.
  
  
• Maine Celebrates 250! Fourth of July Celebration — MHS is planning a civic ceremony and celebration commemorating the 250 ^th in City Hall Plaza in Portland on July 4, 2026. The event will include a community reading of the Declaration of Independence by dignitaries and well-known Mainers; music; and opportunities to view the Declaration of Independence in the Pathways to Freedom exhibit and Wadsworth-Longfellow House.
• Pathways to Freedom: Maine Stories of the American Revolution — MHS’s 2026 signature exhibition, opening March 2026 in Portland and online via Maine Memory Network, featuring rare objects, personal stories including six Maine “Pathfinders” whose lives reveal the many ways the Revolution was shaped and experienced in Maine.
  
  
• Wadsworth-Longfellow House — New interpretive programs exploring the Revolutionary War experience of General Peleg Wadsworth, life in Portland in the era, and how growing up in the house influenced Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetry which helped shape our national story, including the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
  
  
• Speakers, School Programs, and Digital Storytelling — Including K-12 education initiatives, public lectures, and Pathways Forward, a video series featuring contemporary Mainers reflecting on the nation at 250.
  
  

The initiative features MHS’s statewide partners, including 300+ Maine Memory Network contributors, connecting museums, libraries, schools, and historical organizations through shared programming and storytelling.

Revolutionary Maine: America at 250 is presented by New Balance with support from MEMIC and Art Girard, Delta Realty LLC, and additional partners.

“New Balance is excited to support Maine Historical Society’s Revolutionary Maine initiative that commemorates our nation’s 250 ^th birthday statewide through local story-telling and a celebration of our shared values,” says Amy Dow, Vice President, Public Relations & Government Affairs at New Balance. “We are proud to be part of the Maine business community for more than 40 years and look forward to engaging our associates and their communities in this unique and meaningful opportunity to showcase Maine’s contributions to our national history.”

New Balance employs approximately 600 associates across its NB Central Maine and NB Norway factories and retail locations in Kittery, Oxford and Skowhegan.

For updates, event schedules, and ways to participate, visit mainehistory.org/revolutionary-maine.