Historian Promotes Uniting Around Country’s 250th Birthday

MOSCOW – A divided America has found unity in celebrating past milestone birthdays of the Declaration of Independence, public historian Dulce Kersting-Lark told a Historic Preservation Awards audience Thursday. She expressed hope that will happen again as planning continues for America 250 observances in 2026.

Kersting-Lark was the featured speaker at the Moscow Historic Preservation Commission’s annual Orchid Awards, where four people/projects were honored (see https://moscowidaho.news/2025/11/15/orchid-awards-celebrate-history-stewardship-community/) 

She recounted that the Centennial celebration, in 1876 in Philadelphia, came during the bitter Reconstruction between north and south following the American Civil War. Nonetheless, 20 percent of the nation’s population made its way to Philadelphia to share in celebration.

The 1976 Bicentennial arrived in a divided U.S. just after the Watergate scandal, President Nixon’s resignation, and the end of the war in Vietnam, Kersting-Lark said. It sparked pushback against consumerism (some ridiculed overly grand plans as the BUY Centennial), and came during a time of concern for the environment and conservation.

Conservation of historic resources, however, seemed to resonate as something many factions could support, she said. Bicentennial celebrations awakened a broader appreciation for and action to preserve smaller-scale, minority, and local history. 

In Moscow, for example, the community joined to place the McConnell Mansion and three central University of Idaho buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, Kersting-Lark said. Efforts continued in following decades to designate the Fort Russell Historic District, establish the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, and save the 1912 Building as a central community venue.

“The Declaration is an aspirational document that continues to inspire countries worldwide in seeking independence,” Kersting-Lark said. “So how do we come together in 2026 to celebrate our country?”

She directed the audience to Idaho’s America 250 website at https://america250.idaho.gov/ and to a national online “field guide” at https://download.aaslh.org/Making+History+at+250+Field+Guide.pdf.

The University of Idaho, where Kersting-Lark is an assistant professor and head of Special Collections and Archives, plans exhibits, courses, presentations, student program grants, and other observances, she said. 

The crowning achievement would be designation of a central University of Idaho Historic District, which Kersting-Lark and others have been talking about and working toward for years. Recent public history and preservation courses and certification at the university provided students who worked for credit toward the National Register of Historic Places designation, rather than for the anticipated $70,000 cost of hiring professionals, Kersting-Lark noted. 

The historic district nomination is before a state review board in Boise awaiting recommendations, amendments and eventual submission for national consideration. 

In the meantime, Kersting-Lark encouraged the audience to read or reread the Declaration of Independence in preparation for celebrating 250 years since its signing on July 4, 1776: “Reflect on the past, and consider how you want the future to look.”