By Claire Olson for The Carolina Journal
The North Carolina General Assembly’s Semiquincentennial Committee held its fourth meeting on March 13 to discuss ongoing efforts to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
The committee welcomed Ms. Tanzy Wallace of Shelby, North Carolina to fill the seat of Dr. Troy Kickler, who is now officially the Executive Director of NC250. Ms. Wallace previously ran for Mayor of Shelby and presently serves on the NC Board of Podiatry Examiners.
State Archivist, Sarah Koontz, began the meeting by highlighting efforts being undertaken by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). A children’s book about the Edenton Tea Party, Within Our Power, is now available for purchase. Koontz’s team has also launched a digital exhibit that can be accessed here. Another children’s book focused on The Overmountain Men is forthcoming.
The committee also heard from Foundation Forward, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Valdese, NC. Their primary mission is to “promote civics, education, and the preservation of American history” through the installation of memorial plazas resembling that of the presentation room at the National Archives where America’s founding documents are preserved on display for the public.
The organization’s founders, Vance and Mary Jo Patterson, personally paid for the construction of 31 of North Carolina’s 40 installations. Their goal is to complete an installation in each of the 60 remaining North Carolina counties by the end of 2026. According to the presentation, other supporters of their work include the Duke Energy Foundation and the Cannon Foundation. There is also a desire to prioritize New Hanover, Chowan, and Granville Counties, homes of the three North Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence (William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn, respectively).
The executive director, Dr. Kickler, asked the committee to guide his staff’s work by prioritizing all activities discussed thus far.
Rep. Blackwell expressed a desire to work with Sen. Alexander to secure “several million dollars” from state appropriations for use of “non-recurring revenues” to support NC250 activities. Dr. Kickler noted that, after excluding salaries, he presently has $200,000 and sought guidance about the staff’s authority to use those funds. The committee plans to seek guidance about this from the Legislative Services Officer.
Committee member Kyle Luebke expressed a desire to focus on “tangible, future forward items that go forward for decades that we can point back to and say this was a commemoration of the 250th”. Dr. Kickler indicated that this aligns with his desire to help communities understand their local history during the revolutionary period.
Mr. Jason Luker encouraged Dr. Kickler to review what’s being done across the state and “look at what’s not being addressed to fill in the gaps”.
Two significant events in the NC250 timeline are fast approaching – The Halifax Resolves (April 12, 1776) and The Mecklenburg Declaration (May 20, 1775). The DNCR is holding an event in Halifax next month on April 12-14 to commemorate the former occasion.
“The event will take place at the iconic Historic Halifax State Historic Site… and will feature a two-day living history weekend where North Carolina’s pivotal role in shaping the destiny of America will be on display,” reads a description of the event.
The events are open to the public and additional details are available here.
The Charlotte Museum of History is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration by opening a new exhibit to commemorate the historical event. The occasion is open to the public as well, with details available here. According to Dr. Kickler, American Battlefield Trust is holding an event to mark the occasion in Raleigh at the DNCR auditorium, but additional details are still in the planning stages.
The preceding article originally appeared on March 17, 2025 at The Carolina Journal’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Any views or opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Carolina Leadership Coalition.
