At a special meeting on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 2, Lebanon City Council unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the principles laid out by the nation’s Founding Fathers 250 years before in the Declaration of Independence.
The great document that publicly declared independence from the British crown was signed by 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Congress, meeting in Philadelphia two days earlier, had voted to sever ties with Great Britain.
In observance of America’s 250th birthday, city officials recently dug up a bicentennial time capsule buried 50 years ago in Coleman Memorial Park. It contains a copy of the Declaration of Independence and a “rededication clause” signed by 1,500 residents.
Read More: City officials unearth 1976 time capsule
Mayor Sherry Capello read from a letter written by the 1976 bicentennial committee with instructions on how to handle the capsule’s opening 50 years later. It reads, in part:
“The copies of the Declaration of Independence with the Rededication Clause and the attached signatures are to be removed, and the present generation may rededicate themselves to the same principles, … It must also be noted that [those opening the capsule in the future] may add anything to the capsule so long as it does not endanger or harm in any way the present contents of the capsule as were placed in on June 9th, 1976. We also wish that you will have your own town meeting and place your results alongside those of ours and our forefathers.“
“So that is why we’re holding this special council meeting, because that was their wish for us to do so,” the mayor said.
“[The 1976 committee] asked that we add signatures to the rededication clause,” Capello said. “But what we’re doing is we purchased special parchment paper and special ink, and we’re signing on to the resolution that [council] will hopefully pass tonight. And then, again, anyone that signs it will just be adding this to the time capsule.”
The 1976 committee’s letter also has instructions for the capsule’s re-burying and eventual reopening in 2076 for tricentennial celebrations.
After ratifying the Declaration on July 4, 1776, Congress ordered copies to be printed and sent to the 13 colonies for public readings. Continuing the tradition, City Council members read aloud the complete text of the Declaration, with Capello providing context for individual parts.
When the Declaration reading was finished, council and those in attendance stood and recited the America 250 Rededication Pledge, which closes by saying “with gratitude for those who came before us, and hope for those who will follow us, we proudly renew our pledge to the ideals of American liberty.”
How the news got to Lebanon
Shane Keenan of the Lebanon County Historical Society followed with a brief talk on how news of independence reached Lebanon County.
“Now there seems to have been some rumors that something was going on, according to a Hebron Church diaries note on July 7th that there was great excitement in town again about the war, but they don’t exactly elaborate on what the excitement was over specifically. We do know from other entries that they were a bit cautious about accidentally spreading rumors,” Keenan told council.
“However, they were not just rumors, and official news of the Declaration of Independence reached us the next day,” he said. “It first had to travel by horseback from Philadelphia and first went to the county courthouse, which at that time would have been the Lancaster County Courthouse, since we were still part of Lancaster at the time, and would not become our own county until 1813.”
“The county sheriff read the Declaration of Independence from the steps of the courthouse that day on Monday, July 8th, 1776. Citizens of Lebanon did not learn of the Declaration until a few hours later that same afternoon. According to local tradition, a wagon train brought the news while passing through town on its way from Philadelphia to Harris Ferry, and the bell of Salem Lutheran Church was rung to announce the occasion and to call people together to hear the Declaration of Independence.
“Now, we’re not able to completely verify that the bell was rung, but it would make sense to do so, as it was often done to call people together in the community for important events and announcements, and Salem really would have been one of the only two options in town, the other being Tabor.”
After the meeting was adjourned, those in attendance were invited to add their signatures to the time capsule’s rededication clause, which will be re-buried in the capsule until 2076.
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