ColumbiaNY250
Semiquincentennial Celebration
America Celebrates 250 Years of Independence in 2026
Chairman Matt Murell of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors has appointed the following community members to the Semiquincentennial Organizing Committee:
Stuyvesant Supervisor Ron Knott, Kinderhook Supervisor Tim Ooms, Clermont Supervisor Ray Staats, Canaan Supervisor Brenda Adams, County Clerk Holly Tanner, Adam Miller of Columbia County Tourism, and Local Historians: Tom Moreland, Austerlitz; Dawn Brownson, Clermont; Doris Gearing, Canaan; Thomas Shannon, Germantown; Jeane LaPorta, Claverack; and Elizabeth Sheffer-Winig, New Lebanon.
In 2016, Congress passed H.R. 4875, creating the “United States Semiquincentennial Commission” to plan a commemoration and observance of the July 4th, 1776, Declaration of Independence. The Commission encouraged all States to form their own Semiquincentennial Commissions to help plan State-wide celebrations and commemorations of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War, which New York did in July of 2021. With the bill now signed by the Governor, New York State will be making funds available to eligible local commissions to promote events and commemorations of this momentous anniversary.
1954CCHistoricSignInventory.pdfIn September and October, 1954, representatives of the Office of State History conducted an inventory of all roadside historic markers then existing in Columbia County. Some of the ones deemed "not located" then, still exist today, while others have been destroyed or lost since then. This inventory is located in the New York State Archives. Many new roadside historic markers have sprouted up in Columbia County in the last two decades. A new inventory will be part of our ColumbiaNY250 efforts.