Coffee County will be celebrating the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence with an event on the Courthouse lawn organized in conjunction with the Coffee County Historical Society.

The event stems from a conversation between County Mayor Dennis Hunt and CCHS Volunteer Sandra McMullin Bennett.

“I asked him if he wanted me to talk to the board of the Historical Society and maybe we could do something up on the Square,” explained McMullin Bennett. “He said it would be wonderful if we could do that and that it would be nice for the whole county to get behind it.”

Despite a sometimes- arduous planning and organizing process, McMullin Bennett says that she’s “pretty happy” with how things are coming together, though she acknowledges that she didn’t do it alone.

“Ivy Petty and Kim King, who’s the Commander at the VFW, they were like my right and left arms,” she said. “They have helped me so, so much. It’s been great to work with the two of them to really put something together that I really think the people of Coffee County will be proud of.”

The celebration will include an invocation by Dr. Billy Levengood of First Baptist Church and a singing of the National Anthem by Manchester Arts Center regular Tavion Hillsman. The Courthouse will also be open from 3 to 6 p.m. for people to come and see the recent hallway restoration and the bricks from 1871 that are displayed behind glass.

King and her husband David will give their “That Ragged Old Flag” presentation, and CCHS President Larry McIntosh will give a short presentation on protecting and preserving the Declaration of Independence.

“When something is 250 years old, you have to think back over that 250 years and think to yourself ‘How did it ever survive? How did it get to this point where it’s still viable and we can see it?’” acknowledged McMullin Bennett.

Being organized by the Historical Society, the celebration will focus on the historical significance of the day as opposed to the City celebration which will focus more on the fun aspects of the holiday, which McMullin Bennett says she supports.

“The city is doing something completely different,” she said. “Mayor Hobbs and I talked, and we both agreed that it turned out really well because we’re each doing something different. We’re doing the historical signifi- cance, and they are doing the family, kids and fireworks.”

“They’re both relevant and they’re both important and they’re both very appropriate for the day,” she added. “It’s not like people have to choose between us because the day will go on a lot, so they can go down to the park and then come up and see us or they can come and see us and then go to the park.”

McMullin Bennett noted that the day is going to be a “fun time” but will also be a great time for people to come out and really celebrate the significance of the day in a good way and learn some history in the meantime.

“This is something that’s happening at a time when it’s important for us to reflect back on what our standards were and what the Founding Fathers thought were in our best interest,” she explained, comparing the 250th to big events like the Moon Landing.

“It’s also something that isn’t going to happen again,” she continued. “This is 250 years, so it’s not like this is going to happen again in 2027. The Fourth of July will happen but not this particular kind of celebration, and this is something that is being celebrated all across the United States. It is a very big deal.”