History Buffs - July 4th – Declaration of Independence at Historic 130th Annual Independence Day in Martinsville

Washington Camp Ground Association High School Scholarship Awardees to Read Declaration of Independence at Historic 130th Annual Independence Day Celebration in Martinsville

Event to be held at Middlebrook Camp Ground, the site of General Washington’s Troop Encampment

Martinsville(Bridgewater, NJ) – Washington Camp Ground Association (WCGA) High School Scholarship Awardees From Bound Brook, Bridgewater, Middlesex and Somerset County Vo-Tech have been invited to perform the 130th reading of the Declaration of Independence at the historic annual Independence Day celebration. The event, free and open to the public, will start at 10:30 a.m. on the 4th of July. Run by the Washington Camp Ground Association, it will take place at the Middlebrook Camp Ground in Martinsville (Bridgewater) (GPS address: located at 1761 Middlebrook Rd, Bound Brook, NJ 08805). The public is asked to arrive by 10 a.m. while patriotic music is played. Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets. Parking is limited so carpool or walk if possible. The Ceremony will be live streamed at the WCGA Facebook page starting 10:25 a.m. ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/1873739912821643 )

The Declaration was an official act taken by all 13 American colonies in declaring independence from British rule.

The celebration commemorates the encampment of the fledgling American Army in the area from May 28 to July 2, 1777 and again from December 1778 to June 1779. The Middlebrook Camp Ground, where George Washington’s Troops camped, is also the location where the first official American flag, a 13-star flag designed by Francis Hopkinson, was flown in 1777 for the first time over troops. There is a special act of Congress which allows the flag to be flown at this site 24 hours a day without lighting.

Events happening at the annual celebration, aside from the traditional reading of the Declaration of Independence, include the lowering of the American flag, raising a new flag, singing the National Anthem and awarding the of the Scholarships to local area high school students.

Join or renew your WCGA annual membership at the Camp Ground on July 4th you will receive a WCGA Commemorative Coin, celebrating the 250th year of the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

The park was established in 1894. Legend has it that the land was donated to the Washington Camp Ground Association by George LaMonte of Bound Brook, NJ on the condition that the Declaration of Independence is read every 4th of July, or the land would revert to the heirs of the LaMonte family who donated it. This has occurred for 124 consecutive years.

In 1907 more than 2,000 people marched in a parade from Bound Brook to the campground to celebrate Independence Day. What made that parade memorable was that it was the first reported parade in the United States that included a procession of automobiles.

For more information about this Celebration or to join the Camp Ground Association, please call Robert Fazen, President, Washington Camp Ground Assoc. at 732-735-1382, or email rpf1000@gmail.com.

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What: Washington Camp Ground 130th Annual Independence Day Celebration

Where: Middlebrook (Washington’s) Camp Ground 1761 Middlebrook Rd, Bound Brook, NJ (that is address but it is really in Martinsville (Bridgewater), NJ

When: 10 a.m., July 4, 2024 (Bring lawn chairs or blankets & water. Parking is limited so carpool or walk if possible.)

Contact: Bob Fazen, President, Washington Camp Ground Assoc. at 732-735-1382, or email rpf1000@gmail.com.

Schedule: The annual ceremony includes (times are approximate (usually ends no later than 12pm):

10 AM Bring lawn chairs and listen to patriotic music (Parking is limited so carpool or walk there if possible

Flag Ceremony

10:30 Invocation, welcome remarks, changing of the flag and singing of the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance.

10:45 Introduction of dignitaries

Declaration of Independence Ceremony

10:55 Keynote Speaker – Jesse Havens, Historian – New Jersey’s Historical Contribution

11:05 Reading of the Declaration of Independence by WCGA High School Scholarship Awardees

11:30 Benediction by Reverend Phil Fiadino, Bound Brook

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