With the Declaration of Independence signed on July 4, 1776, this year starts a planned year-long celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary. The United States will turn 250 years old next year. It is also the United States Army’s 250th anniversary following the creation of the Continental Army.  The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association held a kick-off of county celebrations the first weekend in May which will culminate in July 2026.

George Washington, who left his Virginia estate on May 4, 1775 to attend the Second Continental Congress, would be appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, and later elected the first President of the newly formed United States of America.  This week’s May 4 event at his Mount Vernon estate noted Washington’s historic departure for Philadelphia with a march to the front gates, with musicians, and revolutionary soldier re-enactors. George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate was turned into a military encampment for its revolutionary war weekend. The event marked the opening of the historic estates’ new Patriots Path and military encampment installations which will be open to visitors year-round.

The organization’s president and CEO, Dr. Douglas Bradburn, a historian, told the crowd of assembled visitors that four important lessons can be learned from Washington’s actions in history: duty, resilience, humility and unity. Washington had sacrificed over eight years of privation to serve his country in the face of a powerful monarch and other obstacles, Bradburn said. He showed resilience, a critical character element, to survive despite hardship and early defeats. He exhibited humility, listening to others, and ceding his power at the end of the war; which Bradburn emphasized was a “powerful trait in leadership.” And Washington was able to unite a diverse group by helping them understand “their shared values and a way forward.” 

Chairman Jeffrey McKay and Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck noted the role early Virginians of Fairfax County played in establishing the new nation. Storck said: “The first shots were fired in Lexington, but the ideas were planted in Fairfax County, … the power that sustained the patriots … liberty, democracy, all [people] created equal.” 

McKay described Virginians’ “spark” to the Congress which “helped to shape the nation.”

The weekend event is the first of several planned throughout the county in 2025 and 2026 by Fairfax 250th Celebrations; part of many nation-wide celebrations. For up-coming events, see https://www.fxva.com/fairfax250/events. 

On the national level, Congress originally established the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016 to promote and coordinate the celebrations, with members appointed by Congress. Elements are expected to include a commemorative coin and postage stamp, and a new liberty bell. 

The U.S. Army is celebrating its 250th anniversary on June 14, 2025. The celebration will include a military parade in Washington, D.C., coinciding with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. Plans for the parade, reported by other media last week, call for more than 6,000 soldiers, 150 vehicles and 50 helicopters to follow a route from Arlington to the National Mall.