Sara Siegler, left, and David Zavagno cochair Declaration 250, an event that will commemorate Aug. 2, 1776, the true signing day of the Declaration of Independence. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

PUT-IN-BAY – Next summer, thousands of people from around the country will gather on Put-in-Bay to commemorate one of the most significant dates in American history: August 2, 1776. Ironically, the date is unfamiliar to most Americans, but it is the true birth date of freedom in the United States. On that day, delegates of the Continental Congress signed their names to the Declaration of Independence, formally enacting the covenant that created a new nation independent of British rule.

On Aug. 1 and 2, 2026, the Lake Erie Heritage Foundation (LEHF) and The Perry Group will host Declaration 250, a two-day event featuring a national signing ceremony celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and America’s Semiquincentennial.

The significance of Aug. 2 became nationally obscured in the annual July 4 festivities. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in June, 1776, and presented the draft to the Continental Congress on July 2. Congressional members revised the document on July 3 and 4 and adopted it on the afternoon of July 4. That decision, which marked the first step into freedom for the young country, is annually celebrated across the nation on Independence Day.

On July 19, Congress ordered the Declaration to be engrossed on parchment. The engrossed copy was signed by the delegates of the Continental Congress on Aug. 2, 1776, officially enacting the document and publicly declaring the colonies’ independence from Britain. Although American tradition has romanticized the signing of the Declaration, by affixing their names to the covenant, the delegates were committing an act of mutiny against Britain. Signers picked up a pen and risked their life, knowing they would be forced to pick up a sword to defend it.

Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4 and courageously enacted the document on Aug. 2. Yet, Aug. 2 has been lost among the fun and fireworks of the 4th of July.

Next year, LEHF and The Perry Group will bring the significance of Aug. 2 to the national stage.

The cornerstone of the Declaration 250 event will be a national signing ceremony at Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial. All members of the United States Congress will be invited to attend and sign the ceremonial 250th anniversary Declaration of Independence.

Nationally syndicated radio host, Hugh Hewitt, will serve as the master of ceremonies for the event, which will also feature the OSU Band, the Navy Band, historical reenactors, tall ships, fireworks and more. Descendants of the original Declaration signers are invited to contact the event chairs for an opportunity to participate in the ceremony. Declaration 250 is cochaired by David Zavagno and Sara Siegler.

Perry’s Memorial is a fitting location for the national event commemorating the true signing day. The memorial honors Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s 1813 victory in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The victory was instrumental in securing American independence.

“It was America’s second war for independence,” Zavagno said. “They declared independence in 1776. They defended independence in 1813.”

Britain viewed the Declaration of Independence as a mutinous but insignificant document, until America faced them in war. The new nation was still fighting nearly 40 years later.

“The British viewed this as an exhibition that they were going to change,” Zavagno said “Not until after the War of 1812 did they give up trying to bring us back to being a British colony.”

Britain’s ambition to rule the new nation drowned within the waters of Lake Erie. Perry’s Memorial now rises to the sky as homage to American victory at Put-in-Bay and as a monument to peace and international friendship.

On Aug. 2, 2026, the Declaration 250 event will bring thousands of Americans together to honor the birth and maturity of independence in 1776 and 1813 and create a platform for renewed national unity.

For more information on Declaration 250, visit https://lakeerieheritage.org or contact the organization at director@LakeErieHeritage.org or 440-252-5551.