Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Newtown will transform into a living history experience Saturday, Aug. 8, as the borough hosts “Newtown Celebrates America 250” to mark the community’s role in history.
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The free, family-friendly event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features historical demonstrations, living history exhibits, church tours, music, and military encampments spanning early Pennsylvania, Revolutionary War, Civil War, African American, and religious history.
The morning’s centerpiece, scheduled for approximately 10:50 a.m., is the Battle at the Bird-in-Hand on State Street at Centre Avenue. About 50 Revolutionary War reenactors will recreate the Loyalist Raid of 1778, the only Revolutionary War military action to occur in Newtown.
Participating reenactment groups include the 1st New Jersey Volunteers, 5th Pennsylvania Regiment, 9th Pennsylvania Lyght Infantry Company, Grenadier Company of the Brigade of Guards, Von Prueschenk Feldjager Company, and Von Wreden’s Feldjager Corps.
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Morning programming begins at 9 a.m. with a prayer service using the 1662 Book of Common Prayer at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Additional morning events feature:
- Performances by the Washington Crossing Fife & Drum Corps along State Street
- Colonial crafts hosted by the Washington Crossing Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution
- An American military encampment at Patriot’s Park
- Children’s military drills led by Paul Beck on Court Street
- Exhibits at the Half-Moon Inn (Court Inn)
From noon to 2 p.m., the Penn Community Bank and Newtown Rotary Club will sponsor a free Great American Cookout in the Boone Garden, offering hot dogs, chips, and drinks.
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Afternoon activities include a 1:30 p.m. public demonstration of Newtown’s restored historic fire engine, “Old Washy,” at the Newtown Fire Association Museum, and a presentation on Harriet Tubman at Macedonia Baptist Church, followed by a Gather Place Museum-led tour of Lighthouse Hill Cemetery detailing 12 United States Colored Troops veterans.
Visitors can also attend first-person interpretations of William Penn by Neil Farber, artist Edward Hicks, and Hessian soldiers discussing the German wartime experience. Other offerings include Doan Gang exhibits at First National Bank & Trust Company, silent films and Civil War music at Newtown Theatre, and tours of St. Mark AME Zion Church and the Historic Presbyterian Church.
Public municipal lots and street parking are available throughout Newtown Borough. Visitors are encouraged to park once and travel on foot.
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The celebration is a Bucks250PA Nonprofit Affiliate event supported through the Bucks250PA Mini-Grant Program, with promotional funding provided in part by the Bucks County Tourism Grant Program, administered by Visit Bucks County.