Event Details
:For Immediate Release Contact Joel Leneker 203-673-9100 JLeneker@aol.com
"WORDS THAT SHAPED A NATION"…an America 250 Field Camp MONROE, CTOn Thursday evening, September 10th a Stepney Green Field Encampment will set-up camp on the Green at the intersection of routes 59 and Main Street (route 25), in Monroe, CT. A free opening event program is planned for the evening that will feature a performance by musicians from the Monroe Summer Orchestra and an appearance by President and Mrs. James Monroe beginning at 6:30pm. Rain date for this event is Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 6:30pm. Inspired by the soldier field encampments of the American Revolutionary War, this encampment presents an artistic interpretation of the camp to include tents, interactive experiences and words from Americans that “Shaped a Nation” from the revolutionary war to present day.
Visitors to the Green will have an opportunity to walk through the encampment and experience the varied events and people. Each tent side carries quotes from US politicians, inventors, entrepreneurs and activists that shaped 250 years of the American experiment. They also include a series of quotes from Connecticut leaders such as the Reverend Thomas Hooker to Mark Twain, Ella Grasso and Matthew Pearsons of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. On a local history level, an on-ground Stepney Timeline will present the history of the Stepney area of Monroe. Each evening the tents will glow from within creating an ethereal visual experience.
This interactive experience was created by the Save Our Stepney Task Force, a Monroe preservation and beautification organization, as part of Monroe’s America 250 celebration. The field camp will be on the Green through Saturday, September 26, 2026. The Stepney Green, the heart of historic Stepney, was chosen for the field camp because it was used for militia drills beginning in the 1700s. In 1817 it was officially purchased for $140 to serve as a place of parade for the Birdsey’s Plain Rifle Company. Monroe already had one green at Monroe Center established in 1784 with land donated by Captain Joseph Moss and Nehemiah DeForest that was the “centre” for the New Stratford Society in the eastern part of town. But as Stepney grew-in-size and importance during the nineteenth century this parade ground became Monroe’s second town green. On Saturday evening, September 26st the camp will close as the tent lights are extinguished to the sound of Taps at 6:30pm.
For more information, please visit www.saveourstepneytaskforce.org or follow us on Facebook. Event parking is available on Pepper Street and behind Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel. # #
