City of White Plains & RW250 to Celebrate the Declaration of Independence

On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, 12:30 p.m., Master Storyteller Jonathan Kruk will give a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of the White Plains City Hall, 255 Main Street. Dressed in 1776 garb, Kruk and a group of soldiers/musicians playing period fife and drum music will engage the public with calls of “Huzzah!” and “Down with the King!”

The program begins with greetings from local officials, including Mayor Thomas Roach, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by local scouts, recognition of veterans, and brief remarks from Constance Kehoe, President of Revolutionary Westchester 250.

After the event, the public is invited into the City Hall Rotunda to view a special exhibit of historic documents, including a rare July 11, 1776 newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence. The pop-up exhibit, organized by White Plains-based historic documents dealer Seth Kaller, will also include an exact facsimile of the engrossed Declaration of Independence and other documents related to America’s struggle for freedom and independence.

This program is organized by the City of White Plains Recreation & Parks Department in partnership with Revolutionary Westchester 250 (RW250). The mission or RW250 is to build awareness and appreciation of Westchester’s Revolutionary War era history in connection with the 250th Commemoration in 2026.

City of White Plains & the Declaration of Independence
Nearly 250 years ago, on July 11, 1776, crowds gathered at the old courthouse in White Plains to hear the news that the colonies had declared independence from Great Britain. In a dramatic event in the courthouse two days earlier, delegates of “the Provincial Congress of the Province of New-York” voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. This crucial vote made it unanimous — all 13 colonies had now agreed to fight Great Britain for their independence. The vote on July 9 was also the official birth of the State of New York. A little more than three months later the Battle of White Plains raged, with more than 13,000 troops engaged on both sides and with casualties in the hundreds.