Nantucket, South Live Cam

How many times in your life have you had a chance to see the Declaration of Independence? Possibly never, right? But now you and your family will have that opportunity, from July 8 through August 6, when the Nantucket Historical Association will exhibit a rare 1776 copy at the Peter Foulger Museum, 15 Broad Street.

To kick off the exhibition, the Nantucket Historical Association will hold a public celebration on Sunday, July 8, begining at 12 noon with a ribbon cutting ceremony and remarks by NHA president Arie L. Kopelman. Free red-white-and-blue rocket popsicles will be distributed, and the Nantucket Community Music Center Jazz Band will play musical selections. Admission to the exhibition will be free for the day.

This document is a 1776 Dunlap broadside, one of four surviving originals kept in private collections and the best preserved of the 25 originals that still exist of the 500 printed. It will arrive on Nantucket after being part of the 4th of July celebration in Philadelphia and will be the centerpiece of an exibition examining the effect that the American Revolution had on the island 225 years ago.