Westmoreland County readies for U.S. 250th birthday bash

Fresh on the heels of Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday celebration in 2024, local officials are looking to the forward to the nation’s Semiquincentennial.

The celebration will actually begin this spring at Historic Hanna’s Town in Hempfield to commemorate what history experts tout as one of the first signs of U.S. independence, with the party expected to continue throughout 2026.

Commissioners said a $20,000 state grant will be used to help local municipalities, school districts and libraries to plan for the nation’s yearlong birthday bash.

“We need to acknowledge the significant role Westmoreland County played in forming the United States,” said Commissioner Ted Kopas.

County officials have already set aside funds from the county’s hotel tax for promotions related to the country’s 250th anniversary celebration, which local leaders hope will be a focus for tourism.

Dawn Lamuth, director of cultural and community connections for Go Laurel Highlands — the local tourism agency for Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties — said preparations have started for the Semiquincentennial.

“We want to bring in visitors but we also want our citizens to celebrate,” Lamuth said.

The party will kick off in May at Historic Hanna’s Town, which served as the Westmoreland County seat of government in 1775. Now a county park, the site was the location of the first courthouse for the region, which once included most of western Pennsylvania.

Fourteen months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, it was at Hanna’s Town where the early signs of the revolution took root. Westmoreland County residents, in response to the first shots of the war at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, issued a document they called the “Hanna’s Town Resolves.”

That document protested what locals called injustices of the British Parliament and resolve to take up arms to resist tyrannical acts while also pledging continued loyalty to the crown.

Lamuth said on May 17, local reenactors will read the document as part of a daylong celebration that will include a 5K run and other activities.

“We’re hoping this will be an annual event and think of it as Westmoreland County’s Fourth of July,” Lamuth said.

With Bicentennial celebrations 50 years ago long in the rearview mirror, officials want the Semiquincentennial to have a lasting impact on the community.

“It’s important we emphasize our historical roots in Westmoreland County,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.