A broadsheet version of the Declaration of Independence is on display in the National Archives exhibit, "Free and Independent: A Celebration of the Declaration," in celebration of America's 250th birthday, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

WHEELING – The Ohio County Public Library will offer a multifaceted celebration exploring 250 years of successes and failures of the American experiment.

The America 250 theme over the next several weeks will be highlighted through exhibits, programs and more. The main exhibit will feature period artifacts (including documents signed by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and other founders) and a plethora of interesting historic information.

At noon on Tuesday, July 7, the library’s Lunch With Books program will welcome Founding Mother Phyllis Wheatley, “the poet laureate of the American Revolution,” as portrayed by Dr. Daisy Century, also a published author. An enslaved person, Wheatley was the first published African American poet and writer. After she dedicated a poem to George Washington, the general was impressed enough to visit her in Boston.

Further expanding on this theme, the new summer 2026 edition of the Upper Ohio Valley Historical Review will explore the theme: “America 250: Wheeling and the Ohio Valley in the National Story.” This volume will delve into areas in which the valley has had a national impact in the 250 years since Independence was declared, including a fresh look at the sieges of Fort Henry and local skirmishes to the extent that they had an impact on the war at large, by history educator Mike Giorgianni; an essay on two military leaders that visited the Ohio Valley area after the American Revolution: The Marquis de Lafayette in Wheeling and James Varnum, a founding member of the Ohio Company, which established Marietta, Ohio, by historian Phillip Greenwalt; Wheeling as an early Gateway to the West — a river, road and rail transportation hub, also by Giorgianni; a look into what extent the Wheeling Conventions and West Virginia Statehood may have impacted the outcome of the Civil War, by Muskingum University history professor William Kerrigan; and Landmark Cases — the legal cases with local origins and national significance, by attorney Patrick Cassidy.

Two of the authors of articles for the review, Wheeling native Greenwalt and Pittsburgh native Giorgianni, will lead an impressive roster of instructors for the new People’s University Series, “America 250: Revolution and Constitution.”

Attendees of this eight-part series will learn about the Revolutionary War, the Enlightenment ideals and grievances that led to the Declaration of Independence, and origins of the new American government that unfolded over several fitful years in a struggle to turn abstract ideas about self-government into a viable structure, with important lessons for 21st century Americans.

The series will conclude at noon on Aug. 13, as members of the community participate in public readings of selections from the nation’s most cherished documents: the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Classes scheduled as part of this special America 250: Revolution & Constitution presentation of People’s University will all take place on Thursdays at the library. They all start at 7 p.m. with the exception of the finale, which begins at noon. The classes include:

Class 1: June 25 — The Meaning of Freedom (1763-1775), instructed by Greenwalt

Class 2: July 2 — Independence Declared (1775-1776), instructed by Greenwalt

Class 3: July 9 — The Double Sevens (1777) – Princeton to Valley Forge, instructed by Giorgianni

Class 4: July 16 — The Year of the French (1778), instructed by historian Robert Kelly

Class 5: July 23 — All That Can Be Expected – The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South (1779-1780), instructed by historian Robert Orrison

Class 6: July 30 — Siege and Surrender (1781-1782) – The Articles of Confederation, Siege of Yorktown and Cornwallis Surrenders, instructed by Giorgianni

Class 7: August 6 — Foundations of Freedom, Building a National Government (1783-1789), instructed by historian Lorri Glover

Finale: Aug. 13 (noon) — A Republic … If You Can Keep It. On Sept. 17, 1787, as the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia came to a close, Ben Franklin was asked whether the delegates had created a monarchy or a republic.

“A republic,” Franklin famously replied, “if you can keep it.”

Franklin’s words remind everyone that self government is fragile and difficult, and must be guarded diligently, especially by the governed. In recognition of these existential truths and in the glow of the nation’s Semiquincentennial, the Ohio County Public Library will highlight these special features celebrating the nation’s relatively young experiment in keeping a republic, all in observation of America 250.

For additional information on the classes and instructors of the upcoming People’s University sessions, or for more on the library’s activities and programs, visit www.ohiocountylibrary.org