The George Washington Foundation has been abuzz with anticipation for the upcoming Semiquincentennial, or 250th birthday of our United States!
In all this excitement I thought it would be a compelling trip down memory lane to uncover how the nation celebrated July 4th through the years, and how our sites, Ferry Farm and Historic Kenmore, joined in on the festivities.
A banner from the Market Square Fair of 1976, HFFI image collection.
July 4th, 1826: 50 Years Old
1826 marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Nationwide, celebrations were small and consisted of mostly military parades and private dinners. Charlottesville, Virginia and Quincy, Massachusetts had sad news to report, though. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams passed away that day within hours of one another.[1]
In Fredericksburg, Virginia, the celebration echoed the others—a military salute in the morning and a large dinner at Sligo, a mansion located on the south side of town.[2]
A man named Samuel Gordon owned Kenmore at the time.[3] Their family had recently experienced some happiness when the future owners William and Eliza Gordon married on May 8th of that year. Although we do not know what their family plans were on the 4th, we can assume that it was a pleasant day.
Across the river, the Mercer family owned Ferry Farm and rented the property out to tenants. Although we have no known depictions of what it looked like in 1826, seven years later the artist John Gadsby Chapman would paint the foundations of the Washington house, reclaimed by nature.[4] That year in September, the Mercers listed Ferry Farm for sale.
“View from the Old Mansion House of the Washington Family Near Fredericksburg, Virginia” (1833) by John Gadsby Chapman. Mount Vernon Ladies Association.
July 4th, 1876: 100 Years Old
Our 100th anniversary also coincided with the first year that the US was the host of a World’s Fair– the Centennial Exposition. Tourists from across the 38 states flocked to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate year-round.[5]
Because the country was celebrating together in Philadelphia, many local celebrations were relaxed, Fredericksburg included. Social organization the Knights of Pythias hosted a large picnic on Scotts Island, today beneath the Chatham Bridge. The Virginia Herald called it “a festive day of rare delight, nothing occurring to… disturb the era of good feeling”.[6]
Unfortunately, both Ferry Farm and Kenmore have a gap in their history on this date, both left marred by the Civil War. Kenmore was bloodstained due to its use as a hospital and Ferry Farm was barren after the union camp burnt what few dwellings were left for firewood. Although our nation was trying to move on a decade later, plenty of scars remained.
View of Ferry Farm circa 1881. National Parks Service.
July 4th, 1926: 150 Years Old
The roaring 20s were in full swing and once again Philadelphia was the place to be! Another World’s Fair, 50 years after the first, was held to celebrate the Sesquicentennial.
Locally, it seems almost nothing was organized to mark the day, aside from a few baseball games. During what ended up being a rainy weekend, the people of Fredericksburg kept it lowkey.[8]
Ferry Farm remained in private hands as a functioning modern farm, as it had for most of its history after the Washingtons. [9] The farmer James Colbert, although there were no recorded celebrations on the land that day, was at least aware that he lived and worked where George Washington grew up. People could come and view some of the unearthed foundations and standing buildings on the grounds, although only a few are now dated to the 18th century.
Aerial view of Fredericksburg showing Ferry Farm in the lower left side, 1927. Fredericksburg Area Museum Collection.
At Kenmore, however, we can begin to say with certainty how the day was marked; the Kenmore Association had finally acquired the house and successfully preserved it! Many people stopped in that weekend to tour the house and see where they were in their restoration process.
Left: Kenmore’s exhibit at the Philadelphia Exposition, GWF Collection. Right: Kenmore’s medal of award, GWF Collection.
July 4th, 1976: 200 Years Old
We’re now reaching the point that some of our readers can recall, the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. Instead of one large exposition, the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration was founded to spread the commemoration across the country.[10]
American Revolution Bicentennial Logo, Wikimedia Commons.
Fredericksburg was no exception, festivities were planned for the whole year leading up to the fourth, and a massive weekend celebration took place across town. A parade stretched down Princess Anne Street and many organizations, clubs, and local figures marched in it. Historic sites like Kenmore were open all day for tours, showcasing local history intertwining with the nation’s.[11]
Left: The Bicentennial Parade on Princess Anne Street, the Free Lance -Star. Right: Russel Bastedo, former director of the Kenmore Association, posing next to a Kenmore cake, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center collection.
After the parade, folks headed down to the city dock where the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation and the Fredericksburg Bicentennial Commission hosted a carnival.
Newspaper advertisement for the city dock carnival, The Free Lance-Star.
Visitors could try their hand at throwing a coin (in this case, a washer) across the river onto Ferry Farm’s shore, like George Washington was said to have done as a boy [12] If our team of archaeologists started digging in the river, I suspect they would find quite a few of those washers today!
July 4th, 2026: 250 Years Old
This year is perhaps one of the most celebrated milestones yet, since the excitement seems to increase with each passing decade. We are all coming together to commemorate the birth of our United States once more, and this time much of the focus is on elevating voices that have previously been ignored and celebrating histories that were once forgotten. We’ve come a long way from the private and solemn affairs of 200 years ago!
America 250 logo.
I’m happy to say that, finally, Ferry Farm will get its place in the sun on this holiday. Our foundation’s Fourth of July celebration will be taking place on Saturday, July 4th at the boyhood home of George Washington, the land that shaped who he became. For those of you reading this today, we hope to see you there. For those of you reading this in the future, let’s do it all again for 2076!
Sarah Alden, Manager of Visitor Services and Interpretation
[1] (National Archives Foundation, 2025)
[2] (The Fiftieth Anniversary of American Independence, 1826)
[3] Mutual Assurance Society, plat for policy 4239, November or December 1822, to Samuel Gordon; plat for policy 6126, 31 December 1829, to Samuel Gordon; plat for policy 6126, 31 December 1829, to Samuel Gordon; and plat for policy 9313, 15 November 1836, to Samuel Gordon; Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia; reproduced in Troup, pp. 146-151.
[4] (Chapman)
[5] (National Archives Foundation, 2025)
[6] (The Fourth of July, 1876, 1876)
[8] (The Daily Star, 1926)
[9] (Warren, 1999)
[10] (National Archives Foundation, 2025)
[11] (Nichols, 1976)
[12] (Nichols, 1976)
Special thanks to the team at Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, The Virginiana Room at the Fredericksburg Library, and Central Rappahannock Heritage Center for providing access to their collections and assisting in the research process.
Lives & Legacies 