Celebrate “Sharing the Spirit of America” on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Museum, 1 East Main Street, Uptown Martinsville! Sponsored by the Colonel George Waller Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the event will begin at 5:30 P.M., with the reading of the Declaration of Independence at 6:00 P.M., and the Independence Walk at 6:30 P.M.

The nationwide project commemorates the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776, by Colonel John Nixon at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Our country’s founding document will be read at the same time across 9,500 miles of the United States and its territories and ten different time zones.

The 1-mile Independence Walk will begin and end at the MHC Heritage Museum, which is in the former Henry County Courthouse. Coordinated and led by All Vets, a local nonprofit organization, the walk will honor the fallen, including those from the American Revolution, and strengthen the living while promoting physical fitness and wellness in our community.

All attendees are encouraged to wear red, white, and blue and other patriotic clothing and accessories to the free event.