YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – With the United States’ semiquincentennial less than 18 months away, Ohio is ahead of most states in terms of preparations, the head of the statewide commission planning the events for the anniversary said.
Last week, Todd Kleismit, executive director of America 250-Ohio, conducted the first in a monthly series of online forums with stakeholders to provide updates and answer questions about the statewide effort.
That effort, Kleismit told participants in the webinar, is ahead of those put forth by most other states for July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
“Ohio is doing a lot more than most states,” Kleismit said. “The states of Virginia and Pennsylvania are probably out front of all of us, but I would say Ohio is toward the front of that second tier.”
So far, more than 140 counties, cities, villages and townships have signed on as America 250-Ohio communities, making them eligible for grants issued by the commission, he said.
“It’s amazing to see what organizations are doing and what they believe needs to be featured,” Youngstown Councilwoman Samantha Turner, 3rd Ward, and chairwoman of the county engagement committee for America 250-Ohio, said in an interview. “It’s everything from the underground railroad to women in aviation to the jazz movement in Cleveland.”
In at least 65% of Ohio’s counties, at least one entity has committed to participate in America 250 in some fashion, Turner said.
“What we want is to ensure that there is an organization in every single county saying that we will celebrate America 250-Ohio,” Turner said. “My goal really is to get us to the finish line by midyear, and that’ll give at least one full year to help put something together.”
In addition to Youngstown, three other area communities have been designated as America 250-Ohio communities: Braceville Township in Trumbull County, and the cities of Salem and East Liverpool, both in Columbiana County.
A Comprehensive Approach
Ohio’s effort is taking several forms, according to Kleismit. Where other states are looking specifically to key events to 1776, Ohio is taking a more comprehensive approach to celebrating its history in relation to the semiquincentennial. Also, the state marked its bicentennial just over 20 years ago, in 2003, and is “finding our opportunities to borrow from what were successful ventures as part of that,” he said.
“One of the bigger programs we’ll be running in 2026 is something called ‘Ohio Goes to the Movies,’” he said. The effort will highlight Ohio’s connections to the motion picture industry, including actors, directors and other creatives from the state, as well as films shot at locations in the state. The program will kick off around Valentine’s Day 2026 and continue through October.
Another America 250-Ohio program, Trails and Tales, packages historic sites around specific themes to “showcase some Ohio strengths and some of these ways that Ohio has contributed,” he said. The first trail, which was introduced last year, focuses on Ohio’s air and space heritage, and a “creativity trail” is expected to launch in February.
“The goal is to have something happening in all 88 counties at some point during 2026,” Turner said.
About $1 million in grants has been released to organizations across the state, including $4,000 to The Butler Institute of American Art for an exhibition highlighting the museum’s founder, Joseph G. Butler Jr.
America 250-Ohio also will focus on “under-told stories” that showcase “things that haven’t necessarily been part of the highlight reels of history,” Kleismit said.
“We really are trying to ensure that the story of Ohio is extremely inclusive,” Turner said. “We want to make sure that we talk about who all contributed to the development of the state of Ohio.”
That includes telling the stories of women and members of the Native American, Black and LGBTQIA+ communities, she said. Among the initiatives that regional partners are looking at is an exhibit that looks at the movement of people to this area, including Native Americans, Blacks and other ethnic groups, and how national events affected those people as well as how they affected local culture.
Braceville
Local Black history is among the aspects that Braceville will emphasize as part of its commemoration of America 250-Ohio, said Terry Shavers, a member of the Braceville Community Foundation. The township’s year of activities, which will begin this July and run through July 2026, will include covering the community’s involvement in the Underground Railroad and migration history.
“We think Braceville may have the first recorded African American in Trumbull County,” he said. “We have potentially the first African American diary in Ohio.”
Salem
Sara Baer, a member of Salem City Council, is the city’s liaison to America 250-Ohio and is working with two other community members to formulate plans for the city’s commemoration of the event.
Plans to date include holding a “grand celebration” July 3, 2026, at Waterworth Memorial Park that will include a homecoming picnic, Baer said.
“We’re working with the parks department right now to solidify all of those plans,” she continued. The intent is to include music, arts and a competitive cookoff involving representatives of local organizations.
In addition, this year the Salem Historical Society plans a retrospective exhibition on Salem’s bicentennial celebration in 2006.
Other topics Baer said she would like to see focused on include the Quakers’ founding of Salem; the local abolitionist movement and the community’s involvement in the Underground Railroad; and the women’s suffrage movement, including the Ohio Women’s Convention in 1850.
“There are also other aspects of industry, innovation and surgical innovation that took place here in Salem,” she said “Hopefully, in collaboration with the historical society, we’ll be able to dig into that a little more thoroughly.”
East Liverpool
Bill Jones, East Liverpool’s safety service director and its America 250-Ohio liaison, said the city is “pretty far ahead” in its journey.
“There’s a lot of history here,” he said. “The big thing is East Liverpool is the point of beginning of the Northwest Territory. That’s where the first cadastral survey was done in the east end of our town.”
As part of East Liverpool’s commemoration, author Simon Winchester, whose works include a YouTube presentation on the “Point of Beginning,” will deliver a lecture in the city. The city also is partnering with the Museum of Ceramics and the Lou Holtz Hall of Fame on other lectures and is working with the Mahoning Valley Sons of the American Revolution to establish a Revolutionary War memorial.
“We hope to have that up in time for the [America] 250 celebration,” he said. The city also recently became part of the auto tour tied into the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition.