Vermont Director of State Historic Sites Joshua Bell reads The Declaration of Independence at the Old Constitution House in Windsor, Vt., on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. ALEX DRIEHAUS / Valley News
WINDSOR — On Wednesday evening, roughly 30 people gathered outside the Old Constitution House in Windsor to hear the Declaration of Independence.
“We are a small but mighty crowd here,” said Joshua Bell, director of state historic sites at the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, in his opening remarks.
Hundreds of similar readings were taking place throughout the country to mark the 250th anniversary of the first time the document was read to the public, on July 8, 1776, outside what is now known as Independence Hall in Philadelphia, he said, and “we’re part of that moment as we celebrate 250 years of American history.”
Bell’s reading was one of several the department was organizing around the state. Others were at the Statehouse in Montpelier and the Battle of Bennington Monument. The Old Constitution House in Windsor was chosen, in part, because of its significance to Vermont history: A year later, on July 8, 1777, delegates approved the “Free and Independent State of Vermont” constitution: “Not part of the United States. Not part of Great Britain. Something different,” Bell said.
That kicked off 14 years of Vermont as its own republic, before it joined the United States in 1791, according to a description of the Old Constitution House on the agency’s website. But first, Vermont is celebrating the United States’ 250th anniversary and Bell’s reading was part of that.
“They’re committing treason, but they’re doing it for a good reason,” Bell said. “They took a leap in the dark for themselves and for us.” The men who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, risked being hanged, he added, setting the scene.
Attendees listen as Vermont Director of State Historic Sites Joshua Bell reads The Declaration of Independence at the Old Constitution House in Windsor, Vt., on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. ALEX DRIEHAUS / Valley News
Around five minutes after 6 p.m., Bell started reading the Declaration, and at times he offered some commentary.
“You see? This is a long list,” he said, showing the grievances against the King of Great Britain. Occasionally he paused when the roar of traffic on Main Street, which doubles as Route 5, became too loud.
He kept the attention of the crowd, the majority standing while others sat on chairs they brought with them. Paul Belaski, of Windsor, drew in a sketchbook throughout Bell’s reading.
“I think it’s important to hear and rehear the Declaration of Independence,” Belaski said, as he showed a portrait of a person standing that he’d done. “It was very intimate this way,” he added, noting the size of the crowd. “It felt good to hear it.”
Linda Farnsworth agreed. The Windsor resident’s eighth great-grandfather was present when Vermont signed and adopted its own constitution in 1777, she said.
“I definitely wanted to come and be here,” Farnsworth, of Windsor, said. Her family is now made up of eight generations of Vermonters.
Farnsworth was also excited to hear about the Old Constitution House’s upcoming renovations. The building has been closed to the public since at least 2020 for a variety of issues, including flood damage that had infiltrated the site over the decades. The goal is to have a soft opening in time for the 250th anniversary of the Vermont Constitution, Bell said.
“It’s about time,” Farnsworth said. “This is the birthplace of Vermont and it should have been done a lot sooner.”
