In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley will open the milestone exhibition Revolutionary Valley on July 4, 2026. Featuring powerful, untold stories and remarkable objects, many on public display for the first time, the exhibition tells the Shenandoah Valley’s story before, during, and after the American Revolution.
Discover how Valley residents — Revolutionaries, Loyalists, free and enslaved people, women, and others — debated, shaped, and challenged the era’s revolutionary ideals. See everything from James Wood Jr.’s commission from the Continental Congress in November of 1776 (signed by John Hancock!) to a carved depiction of George Washington created by a modern-day Valley artist.
Experience wartime through the real letters of Valley residents who lived it, and learn about the fight for freedom led by Sarah Strother, a woman enslaved at Glen Burnie whose legal battle revealed the gap between the nation’s founding promises and lived realities.
By connecting the Revolution to later struggles for freedom and equality, Revolutionary Valley reveals the Shenandoah Valley as a place where generations have shaped ideals that continue to define America.
Revolutionary Valley has been funded in part by a grant from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture’s Commonwealth History Fund, presented by Dominion Energy, and a grant from Virginia Humanities.
