Exhibition for the Semiquincentennial

The 250th anniversary of the founding of our country isn't getting as much attention as the 200th anniversary did. Maybe that's because Semiquincentennial is harder to remember and pronounce than Bicentennial, or maybe it's because the great experiment that is American democracy is so threatened in this anniversary year. Nevertheless, the History Room at the Hudson Area Library will be observing this significant anniversary--a quarter millennium--with a special Hudsoncentric exhibit: Patriots of Hudson in the Revolutionary War. Joining the History Room in observing the Semiquincentennial are the Jacob Leisler Institute and the DAR.

The opening reception for the Hudson Area Library’s History Room exhibit, Patriots of Hudson in the Revolutionary War, will be Thursday, March 5, at 6 p.m. in the library’s Community Room. The exhibit celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and features stories of local residents who supported the fight for American independence. 

Registration is required for the opening; email brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org.

This event is the launch of a three-site exhibition developed collaboratively by the Hudson Area Library, the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, and the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In addition to the three exhibits, each institution will have related programming throughout the year. The Hudson Area Library will offer a three-credit Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) class on the exhibit for local teachers. The library will also have a follow-up exhibit on the effect of the war on the neighboring indigenous tribes, including an examination of the history of the Esopus Tribe. It will be researched and curated by Justin Wexler of Wild Hudson Valley who studies local Eastern Algonquian languages, history, and folklore.

Each institution’s exhibit focuses on a different aspect in local history of the fight for independence:

The Hudson Area Library exhibit, Patriots of Hudson in the Revolutionary War, profiles local residents who fought in the Revolutionary War or who contributed to the fight for independence. Several went on to help found the City of Hudson. The exhibit will be on view from March 5 through June 30, 2026. The library’s exhibit was made possible by the Rheinstrom Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

The Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History exhibit is titled From Glorious Revolution Toward Independence: America's Forgotten First Revolution. The exhibit will be on display at 46 Green Street Studios in Hudson in July 2026. This exhibit focuses on how the peoples of the former Dutch colony of New Netherland--New York, New Jersey, and the three lower Pennsylvania counties (Delaware)--created, during the Glorious Revolution of 1689-1691, a unique American identity that influenced the movement for independence from Great Britain eighty-five years later.

The Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution exhibit is called Who Were Our Patriots? and will be at the Hendrick Hudson Chapter NSDAR Historic Robert Jenkins house at 113 Warren Street in Hudson in the Spring/Summer of 2026. This exhibit will flesh out the lives of selected Revolutionary War patriots. Included will be those to whom several of the chapter's members proved their lineal descent and thus qualified for membership in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Also included will be "forgotten patriots"--Native American and African American patriots and at least one woman. Local ties, if any, will be emphasized, and, when possible, relevant social issues will be explored. The focus is on remembering heroines and heroes from 250 years ago.