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Fairfax County has begun a yearlong series of events leading to the nation’s 250th anniversary in July 2026, launching the local commemoration at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate during the first weekend of May 2025.
The celebration also recognizes the approaching 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which traces its founding to the Continental Army. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.
The May 4 program recalled Washington’s departure from Mount Vernon on that date in 1775 to attend the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He would soon be appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army and later become the first U.S. president.
Musicians and Revolutionary War re-enactors accompanied a march to Mount Vernon’s front gates, while the estate became a military encampment for the weekend. The event also opened the new Patriots Path and military encampment installations, which will remain available to visitors throughout the year.
Mount Vernon President and CEO Dr. Douglas Bradburn told attendees that Washington’s life offers four lessons: duty, resilience, humility and unity. He pointed to Washington’s endurance through more than eight years of hardship and early military defeats, his willingness to listen to others and his decision to relinquish power after the war.
Bradburn called humility a “powerful trait in leadership” and said Washington united a diverse population by helping people recognize shared values and a common path forward.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay and Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck highlighted the influence of early Fairfax County Virginians on the emerging nation.
“The first shots were fired in Lexington, but the ideas were planted in Fairfax County,” Storck said, invoking the principles of liberty, democracy and equality that sustained the patriots. McKay said the “spark” supplied by Virginians to the Continental Congress helped shape the country.
The Mount Vernon gathering was the first of several Fairfax 250th Celebrations events planned across the county during 2025 and 2026.
Congress created the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016 to coordinate and promote commemorations nationwide. Expected elements include a commemorative coin, a postage stamp and a new liberty bell.
The Army will mark its own 250th anniversary on June 14, 2025. Plans include a military parade in Washington, D.C., on the same day as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. More than 6,000 soldiers, 150 vehicles and 50 helicopters are expected to travel a route from Arlington to the National Mall.