HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) – The Harrisonburg VA250 Committee, working in partnership with Rockingham County’s committee, has planned numerous events across the area to recognize the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the historic events surrounding the founding of America. Events, which begin March 2, 2026, and span the next several months, include numerous exhibits and demonstrations about the nation’s history with a focus on the Shenandoah Valley.

“Our commemorative activities highlight 250 years of area history with the theme of ‘Our History is America’s History,” Harrisonburg Tourism Manager Jennifer Bell, the Harrisonburg VA250 Committee chair, said. “Participants will be able to watch a historic movie, tour the mobile museum that’s coming to Harrisonburg High School, listen to academics discuss the importance of the founding and much more, all for free.”

History Trail. Photo credit: City of Harrisonburg.

Events include:

  • March 2 – A new Harrisonburg History Trail (pictured right) will be launched with brochures available at major historic sites and online at www.VisitHarrisonburgVA.com/history and at the Hardesty-Higgins Visitor Center, 212 S. Main St.
  • March 2 – A collaboration between Harrisonburg VA250, Virginia Public Media (VPM) and James Madison University (JMU) to host Freedom and Revolution: America 250-Then and Now. This is a panel discussion event at JMU which includes snippets from Ken Burns “The VA250 Mobile Museum that will be coming to Harrisonburg High School in March. American Revolution” film. Panelists include two JMU history professors, Patrick Campbell from Montpelier and Jayme Swain, president of VPM, as moderator. Time: 6 to 7:30 p.m. at JMU’s Wilson Hall (doors open at 5:30)

  • March 5 – Religious Communities during the Revolutionary War event. A Community Conversation on the Mennonite and Brethren experience in the Shenandoah Valley during the Revolutionary War. Featuring Dr. Carl Bowman, distinguished historian of the Church of the Brethren; Elwood Yoder, leading expert on Mennonite History and interim Executive Director at the Brethren & Mennonite Heritage Center; and Dr. Robert Browne, professor of religion at James Madison University. Time: 6 to 7:30 p.m. at JMU Memorial Hall.

  • March 4 to 6 – VA250 Mobile Museum at Harrisonburg High School. A hands-on, interactive and immersive “museum on wheels,” the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience titled “Out of Many, One” is housed in a large tractor trailer that is traveling throughout Virginia. The mobile museum highlights key stories of Virginia’s history. Learn more at https://va250.org/mobile-museum/. Times: Wednesday, March 4, and Thursday, March 5, from 3 to 7 p.m. and Friday, March 6, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

  • March 6 – Film screening of “The American Constitution” at JMU Grafton Stovall Theater. The film, set in 1787 Philadelphia, features a superb cast of actors who bring the framers to life. Best-selling authors and leading historians masterfully reveal how George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and a cadre of unsung delegates crafted a document that changed the world. Time: 5 p.m.