Will Ohio be ready for the U.S. Semiquincentennial?

Last Thursday at Circleville Noon Rotary meeting, the word-of-the-day was “semiquincentennial” — a 250th anniversary of something. Plans are underway for the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; the celebration will happen on July 4th, 2026.

The US government is helping each state form a commission to encourage community involvement. The Ohio Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial (also referred to as “America 250-Ohio”) was announced on March 1, 2022 (Ohio’s Statehood Day) by Governor Mike DeWine. A 29-member commission has been established to encourage the involvement of Ohioans, Ohio communities, and Ohio organizations.

One of the commissioners, Tom Hankins, was Rotary’s guest speaker and he certainly is one of the best as demonstrated by his command of Ohio history. In addition to getting Ohio Communities and Organizations ready for the celebration, Hankins explained, “My second responsibility is to locate and document all of the Revolutionary War graves that exist in the state of Ohio, and that’s over 7,400. Ohio does not have an official list. The closest thing that Ohio has was the official roster of Revolutionary soldiers that was published in 1929.”

The Commission will be researching the records of the National Archives, the Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution. The Pickaway County Historical & Genealogical Library will also be involved. Hankins stated that Pickaway County has 300 Revolutionary War patriots buried in the county. The term “patriots” is used, because Revolutionary War soldiers in the field were aided by those patriots who served as scouts and other roles vital to the war effort.

There was a Revolutionary War battle fought in Ohio at Fort Laurens, near Canton, on February 24, 1779. The British and their Seneca- Cayuga natives attacked the American fort, killing 15 and capturing two. There is a museum at the site which recalls the history of the events leading to the battle.

Hankins also informed the Rotarians that there is grant money from the State of Ohio available for 501©3 organizations that want to get involved locating grave sites, cleaning the headstones and placing plaques on the gravesites of the patriots. The grants can run from $0 to $5,000 for local projects and $5,000 to $50,000 for regional projects. The Sons of the American Revolution are making plaques available for the located gravesites. A list of the 2023 grant winners and a brief description of there plans is available at the Commission’s website: ohiohistory.org/america-250-ohio-commission.

Information about Semiquincentennial activities across America can be found at: america250.org .

During the question and answer period, a concern was raised about the activities at the Peters Cemetery in northern Pickaway County. An allegation was made that the graves have been disturbed by university professors doing anthropological research.

Hankins pointed out that it would be a federal crime to disturb the graves of veterans, so a question was raised about whether or not permission for the research was given.