Arlington Joins Statewide Declaration Delivery Day With Historic Reading Event

ARLINGTON, MA — The town is joining communities across Massachusetts next week to recreate a tradition that began at the start of the American Revolution.

Arlington 250, State Rep. Sean Garballey and members of the Arlington Historical Society will host a public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8, at 7 p.m. on the lawn of the Jason Russell House. The event is part of Revolution 250's statewide "Declaration Delivery Day: Every City. Every Town. One Declaration." initiative commemorating the nation's 250th anniversary. In the event of rain, the reading will move inside the Smith Museum.

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The program recreates the original distribution of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, when the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized Salem printer Ezekiel Russell to produce copies of the document for communities across the Commonwealth. More than 300 copies were delivered to towns and parishes, where ministers read the Declaration aloud to residents for the first time.

For the first time since 1776, each of Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns is once again receiving its own replica of the historic document. Arlington recently received its copy, which will be used during the July 8 reading. According to organizers, the statewide initiative is unique to Massachusetts and is intended to recognize the Commonwealth's role as one of the original 13 colonies and an early advocate for American independence.

The reproductions were created using the same printing methods that would have been used 250 years ago. The documents were produced at the reconstructed Edes and Gill Print Shop using hand-set movable type and printed on cotton-linen paper made one sheet at a time by Twinrocker Paper in Indiana. Massachusetts printing historian Gary Gregory created each replica using approximately 10,000 pieces of custom-made type.

The project is supported by Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin, who also serves as chair of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, as part of the state's broader Revolution 250 commemoration. The reading is free and open to the public.

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