NYS Parks Recreation Historic PreservationGermantown, N.Y. – On July 4th, 2023, Clermont State Historic Site will celebrate “Independence Day at Clermont.” This is your chance to spend July 4th at the home of one of the drafters of the Declaration of Independence. The day will include demonstrations and displays of daily life for the people who lived and worked at Clermont and the surrounding areas at the dawn of the American Revolution. Demonstrations and presenters include farming, cooking, woodworking, laundry and more. In the performance tent children and adults will be entertained by the songs and stories of Thomas Hooker Hanford.

Heather Bruegl will present a lecture called “Freedom for Who? Indigenous Nations and America’s Independence.” July 4, 1776 was a pivotal day for what would become the United States of America. But it was also a day that forever changed life for the Indigenous Nations that called this land home. Learn about how the freedom for one nation took the freedom of others. There will also be readings of Frederick Douglass’ speech; “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” The event will end with a reading of the Declaration of Independence.

A food truck and an ice cream truck will be available throughout the day to sate your appetite and sweet tooth. There will be crafts for kids.

Independence Day at Clermont will last 11:00 am through 5:00 pm. There will be a charge of $15 per car. Clermont’s gates will close at sunset. There are no fireworks included in the event this year.

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 individual parks, historic sites, recreational trails, and boat launches, which were visited by a record 79.5 million people in 2022. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit parks.ny.gov, connect on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

###

 

Contact:

Geoff Benton | Clermont State Historic Site

Geoff.Benton@parks.ny.gov | (518) 537-4240