In July, we’ll celebrate the 250th anniversary of some bold talk. The representatives of the United States of America assembled to declare “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.” Several weeks earlier, the people of Sandwich had assembled to declare that they were ready. Sandwich’s declaration is inscribed on page 71 of “Records: 1768-1796,” a commonplace title that hides revolutionary sentiments. Town Meeting Resolution The handwritten text on...

This notice, placed in a time capsule destined to be opened on July 4, 1976, in Sandwich, advertises the "Greate Concerte" held at Town Hall in March 1876. The two-day concert, featuring Auld Lang Syne and The Star Spangled Banner, was part of the town's year-long Centennial celebration. The notice and most of the other items packed into the Centennial Box capsule are in the Town Archives. COURTESY OF THE SANDWICH TOWN ARCHIVES When history buffs plan our share of a big national birthday...

From the junction of Water and Main streets in Sandwich Village, you can see five centuries. But for the 250th birthday of the United States this year, let's put on spectacles that filter out all those centuries but the revolutionary 18th. Across town, we have spaces, homes, taverns, historic cemeteries and historical institutions that show us how lucky we are to live right here right now for this national party. Most of the United States has no such physical legacy of the Revolution. All we...