The 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States is finally upon us. Events celebrating the Semiquincentennial will take place throughout Connecticut all year long, starting in January .
The celebration of the founding of the United States is everpresent in Connecticut — one of the 13 original colonies. When considering how best to honor America 250, Connecticut museums and institutions are seizing the moment.
One of the institutions jumping fully into the celebratory mood is the New Haven Museum at 114 Whitney Ave. in New Haven. The museum is offering several distinct angles on the founding of the country, including a free lecture series that starts in February.
On Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., historian Michael D. Hattem will show the revolution as an open-ended concept in a talk titled “An Unfinished Revolution at 250.” The talk will encompass later American revolutions which related directly to principles expounded on in the Declaration of Independence such as abolition and women’s suffrage and civil rights.
On March 28 at 2 p.m., textile expert Lynne Bassett will discuss “Federalist Fathers and Republican Mothers: The Fashions of John and Abigail Adams.” She will illustrate her talk with clothing, drawings and writing of that period, discussing the importance of fashion and culture in understanding major historical transitions.
The final talk in the series is April 18 at 2 p.m., on the exact date of “The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America.” The discussion is presented by the author of a book bearing the same title, Kostya Kennedy.
On a grander, longer-lasting level, the New Haven Museum is remaking the main exhibition on its ground floor to reflect New Haven’s role in the American Revolution. Cynthia Riccio, the museum’s director of planning, said the exhibition will “illuminate significant moments in New Haven history,” including local events leading up to the American Revolution, key figures in local history and other revolutionary times in New Haven history.
New Haven Museum is providing an expansive, centuries-spanning view of American “revolutions,” including the women’s suffrage movement of the early 20th century. This photo shows women at a demonstration outside the Winchester Repeating Arms company in New Haven. (Courtesy of New Haven Museum)
Riccio said the exhibition will also highlight indigenous people in the area, those who immigrated from Europe in search of religious freedom and landmark 20th century “revolutions” like the Griswold v. Connecticut court case, which argued for the rights of married couples to use contraception without government interference.
“These are very New Haven stories,” Riccio said.
The museum is working with advisors from a number of Connecticut organizations to assure that the exhibit will be wide-ranging. “We are working all of our jobs together to create this encompassing of unfinished revolutions,” Riccio said.
One of the historic properties managed by the New Haven Museum is the Pardee-Morris House, an historic building located on Lighthouse Road in New Haven about five miles from the downtown museum. The property has a special importance: The house was burned during a British raid on New Haven in 1779 in the midst of the Revolutionary War. The house was renovated by the Morris family, which then occupied it. It was maintained as one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city and has been a tourist attraction since the 1920s.
The New Haven Museum is planning a slew of special programs for the Pardee-Morris House this year, including one on July 5. That date marks a whole different anniversary, Tryon’s Raid in 1779, during which the damage to the house occurred.
“We are excited to present all these aspects of New Haven history,” Riccio said. She credits the entire staff, including the museum’s executive director, Margaret Anne Tockarshewsky, and Joanna Steinberg, the museum’s director and learning and engagement, for the programming for the anniversary year. “We’ve been talking about this for over a year,” Riccio said.
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Another Connecticut museum, the Fairfield University Art Museum, received a grant from the nonprofit Connecticut Humanities for a new art exhibit to honor America 250. “For Which It Stands…” will be on view from Jan. 23 through July 25. Dozens of artists from the last 100 years or so are represented in the show, with all 75 works in the exhibit inspired by the American flag.
The exhibit will include well-known works by big name artists such as Jasper Johns, Faith Ringgold, Robert Rauschenberg, Julie Mehretu, Eric Fischl and Shepard Fairey on loan from major art museums around the country (and some close at hand, like Yale Art Gallery, the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury and the Westport Public Art Collections). There are also works by contemporary artists, including a new textile sculpture by Maria de Los Angeles that was specially commissioned for the exhibit.
Statewide, the America 250 CT Commission, created in 2022 by Gov. Ned Lamont, was created to “inspire grassroots efforts that promote inclusivity and belonging among Connecticut’s residents, looking back beyond the last 250 years and ahead toward a shared future,” according to the project’s website. There are already dozens of events on the schedule. As part of the project, towns and cities across Connecticut are taking part in the celebration. West Hartford is offering multiple events, including a talk at Noah Webster House on Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. titled “Working for the Revolution: Patriot Women’s Lives During the War.”
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The Ivoryton Playhouse in Essex has given a patriotic theme to its 2026 season, which includes a production of the Broadway musical “1776,” running from June 25-July 26.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is also participating in multiple events to celebrate America 250, including a chamber concert at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art on May 17, performing works by American composers. The orchestra is holding its traditional “Celebrate America” concert at Simsbury Meadows on July 3, and an outdoor concert by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra is part of the 2026 Hartford Bonanza festival in Bushnell Park on July 4.
This is just the start of a banner year in Connecticut marking the birth of the United States.