Maine Historical Society is privileged to steward one of 26 surviving copies of the Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration printed in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, and sent to the Colonies to announce American independence. From July to October 2026, the Declaration will travel across Maine to all 16 counties with great pomp and circumstance. Two to three day stops at Host Sites will include public and student visitation, community celebrations, readings, and special events. Join us for the opening reception and a lecture as we mark the tour’s stop at the Bangor Public Library.
Reception: 5:15-6:15 p.m.
Join us for light refreshments.
Opening Remarks: 6:15-6:30 p.m.
Steve Bromage, Executive Director of the Maine Historical Society
Lecture: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Liam Riordan
“What Should We Remember about the Declaration of Independence in 2026?”The first ever visit to Bangor of the earliest public copy of the Declaration of Independence in its 250th commemorative year sets the stage for this illustrated lecture. How was the Declaration of Independence created? What is the Dunlap Broadside? What did it all mean in 1776? Equally important, we will discuss what the Declaration means to us today.
About the Speaker
Liam Riordan is Department Chair and Adelaide and Alan Bird Professor of History at the University of Maine. He is the co-editor of What We Know, What We Wish: Maine Statehood, Historical Commemoration, and the Urgency of Public History (UMass Press, 2025). A specialist on the American Revolution, he received the Maine Historical Society’s Neal W. Allen History Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Maine history in 2020.
