One year away: Pennsylvania counts down to America’s 250th

For Cassandra Coleman, America’s story lies at the heart of rural Pennsylvania.

“There [are] so many opportunities here and so many ways to elevate communities that aren't Philadelphia and aren't Pittsburgh," said Coleman, who runs America250PA.

The commission dedicated to commemorating Pennsylvania’s integral role to America’s founding and future.

"No question, [Philadelphia’s] the birthplace of democracy … [but America250PA mandates] every county to be engaged and included,” Coleman said in a recent phone interview.

America250PA is part of America250, a nationwide nonpartisan initiative to honor the semiquincentennial celebration of American independence in 1776.

Courtesy of America250PA

Pennsylvania proposed its program in 2018 and launched in September 2019 under then-Gov. Tom Wolf. Coleman said Wolf chose her to be its executive director because of her background in fundraising. After a few weeks and conversations with the governor, she said she realized there were no “guardrails” on how to share Pennsylvania’s legacy.

“This is truly something that we can build from the ground up,” said Coleman, recollecting America250PA’s beginning seven years ago.

“This is something that there's no template for … And this is an opportunity [where] we can't miss the mark," she said. "So, I fell in love with the project. I fell in love with the idea of what this could be.”

Before she worked in Wolf’s administration as his representative to Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, Coleman served as Exeter Borough’s mayor. She said America250PA’s mission to represent all 67 counties is personal to her. Local communities are the “lifeblood of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

“I know how it felt to represent one of those small communities for so many years, and to make sure that … on a national basis or on a statewide basis, some of those stories … are also included in the overall work,” Coleman said.

Coleman said she wants to be a good role model for her 10-year-old son through her work with America250PA.

“I think [how] in 50 years, when we are celebrating the next anniversary … my son can look back and say, ‘Wow, my mom actually had a leading role and ran Pennsylvania's portion of such a historic moment in time,’” Coleman said.

Hundreds of events and programs to celebrate America’s 250th in Pennsylvania

Tony Calliaio

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Courtesy of America250PA

Since its official start in 2019, Coleman said America250PA has launched programs and events across all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties with the support of over 400 municipalities and local organizations through $8 million in matched funding from private and public partners.

These programs range from historical plaques and bells to kids programming through a Keystone Classroom initiative. As of early July, that program has reached 36,000 Pre-K through 4th grade students in 52 counties. Coleman said that by the end of December 2025, they will reach their goal of 50,000 students across all of Pennsylvania.

Coleman said there’s something for everyone in commemorating America’s history (find a full list below of current and upcoming events.)

She promoted the program’s Liberty Tree project, which she says plants trees — grown from the same lineage as the original Liberty Tree of the Revolutionary War — and its Semiquincentennial Bell project.

Courtesy of America250PA

“There's only going to be five to seven of them across the Commonwealth … They highlight lesser-known or under-told stories that may have been left out of the history books. So, we've placed a bell at the Dennis Farm up in Susquehanna County. We've placed a bell at the Hawley Silk Mill up in Wayne County,” said Coleman.

Dennis Farm is the longest continuously African American-owned farm in the country, said Coleman. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and is listed with the Smithsonian.

In 1793 when the Dennis Family bought their land, only 10% of African Americans were free.

“And of that 10%, very, very few owned land,” said M. Denise Dennis, the oldest member of the seventh generation of her family in June 2023 when her family received the bell.

The Hawley Silk Mill received its bell in October 2024. Coleman said it commemorates the story of immigrants, mostly women and children, who “forged the nation during the Industrial Revolution.”

Kat Bolus

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WVIA News

WVIA asked Coleman how America250PA balances telling the nation’s story now that immigration is deeply political across party lines.

“We stay away from the politics of it,” said Coleman. “And we recognize that there are differing opinions … But, I think for us … the guiding work for America250PA through our legislation is that we are to engage all 67 counties, and we are to engage as many Pennsylvanians as possible. And that means listening and engaging different stories, differing opinions, and being okay with that. And being able to … not take sides on a policy issue.”

Camp Security, a Revolutionary War prison camp in York County is receiving a bell. So is Allentown, where the real Liberty Bell was hidden during the Revolution, Coleman said.

Coleman said America250PA’s aim is to make sure that all Pennsylvanians’ stories are represented. She acknowledged that some people may have not felt included in the nation’s Bicentennial and that “everybody has a different approach to what the 250th means” to them.

“So, the goal is that through the different variations of programming … we want to hear everybody's story … It's okay to have differing opinions. It's okay to have differing stories. That's what makes this Commonwealth so unique. That's what makes this Commonwealth so amazing,” said Coleman.

Pennsylvania: A state with a lot to celebrate

Besides state-level celebrations, counties and communities across Pennsylvania are preparing for America’s 250th.

In Bradford County, Sayre Borough Mayor Henry Farley says preparations started over a year ago.

“We meet monthly and we're looking at this as more of an educational opportunity for people to understand how everything evolves in our county,” said Farley, county historian and president of the Board of Trustees for the Sayre Public Library.

He said the county is compiling documentation of life during the Revolutionary War and is restoring grave markers from the same period.

“Our main focus is trying to get the young people involved… We [want to] get the schools to come in and go on tours [so we can share our community’s history.] Because if they don't … develop a love for these sorts of things … it dies. And we don't want it to die. We want to keep this stuff alive,” Farley said.

Courtesy of David Parker

Over in Monroe County, Commissioner David Parker oversees how the county shares its story. He remembers celebrating the nation’s bicentennial and wants to capture the same feeling of awe he felt as a child while watching the 1975-1976 Freedom Train roll through.

“I was only six [during the Bicentennial] … My dad took us up to to watch it (the Freedom Train) as it came through, and we put coins on the track, and then [watched] the locomotive flatten them out,” said Parker.

The Freedom Train featured twelve display cars filled with over 500 pieces of classic Americana, from George Washington’s copy of the Constitution to Judy Garland’s dress from "The Wizard of Oz."

For Parker, America’s 250th is “a milestone that we can celebrate and unite around.”

The county is working towards a “Keystones Across the County” Program, where each of Monroe’s 20 boroughs and townships will receive a four-by-four piece of plywood cut into a keystone shape with designs that reflect each individual municipality. Parker hopes to expand the program to the county’s four school districts.

For more information on upcoming events for America’s Semiquincentennial, visit America250PA’s Facebook.