With the ringing of a bell, Halifax Town Crier Wrenn Phillips signaled the audience to silence as he prepared to read a portion of the Halifax Resolves Tuesday.

“Oh yay, oh yay, oh yay,” he proclaimed. “Let it be known by all who have assembled today that we are here on this historic site to remember and commemorate a noble act of freedom enacted by the 83 delegates to the Fourth Provincial Congress assembled here in Halifax on April 12th, 1776 which read in part be it resolved that the delegates to the Continental Congress be empowered to concur with the delegates from the other colonies in declaring independence and forming foreign alliances reserving to this colony the sole and exclusive rights of forming a constitution and laws for this colony which shall hereafter be pointed out.”

Phillips said, “Let us not forget the significance of this resolution for it brought here the feelings and the wishes of those brave men who stood for all time to be first for freedom.”

Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chairman Vernon Bryant said the celebration Tuesday sets the tone for the 250th anniversary. “We have a plan in place and a committee in place in conjunction with the town of Halifax. I’m looking forward to that celebration.”

Bryant said the 250th celebration is going to be unlike any other. “It’s going to be a great celebration. We hope to have schools involved, have local people involved and people from the state and the nation. We want the kids to come out and get involved in it. It’s a significant thing, a once in a lifetime thing. Anyone who has an interest doesn’t want to miss that opportunity.”

Larry Armstrong, chair of the Historical Halifax Restoration Association, which sponsored the afternoon program, said, “When the 83 delegates of the Fourth Provincial Congress met here on April 12, 1776, the United States of America did not exist. If you assume like most people do that America was born on the Fourth of July one could well argue that the nation was conceived here in Halifax two months before that.” 

Before the keynote speaker for the day, D. Reid Wilson, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, gave his address Armstrong presented state Representative Michael Wray with the association’s Halifax Resolves Award.

The award was presented to Wray for his work in securing funding to finish the restoration of the William R. Davie House and to renovate and restore the Historic Halifax visitors center in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Halifax Resolves in 2026.

Money was also earmarked for the former Andrew Jackson school site in Halifax. That includes $50,000 for Weldon City Schools, $50,000 for the underground railroad project and $150,000 for site development.

I’m very honored and humbled,” Wray said following the presentation. “Today is a glorious day for all of us. Nineteen seventy-six is similar to now. In 1976 my dad and  I went to the amphitheater. Jim Holhouser and Jim Hunt were there — one a Republican, one a Democrat and look at what we have in North Carolina today.”

Wray said, “We couldn’t do anything without working together. We were able to secure $5.2 million in this last General Assembly to restore the visitors center and to complete the William R. Davie House. I’m honored and humbled.”

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Wilson told the audience assembled outside the visitors center that the department is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. “Though it pales in comparison to our nation’s upcoming 250th.”

The state, he said, is blessed with a rich and diverse culture and history. “History and culture are reflective of people and places and events. History helps us understand how we got to where we are today, and may even be able to guide us down a path toward a brighter future.”

Today the original copy of the Halifax Resolves is stored in the National Archives in Washington. There is hope that it will be brought to Halifax for the 250th anniversary celebration. 

The planning for that celebration has been extensive and two years of work have already gone into the planning locally. “The goal of America 250 is to commemorate our semiquincentennial with inclusive programs that inspire Americans to renew and strengthen our daring experiment in democracy — the longest stretch of any continuous democracy in the world,” Wilson said.  “We will celebrate not only the actions that led to our nation’s founding, but the ideas and events that have taken place since then, to help answer the question: When are we US? History is complex — and sometimes uncomfortable.”  

He said many people and cultures existed on this land before Europeans arrived. “We acknowledge that history and weave it into the inclusive American story. We know that the American experiment in democracy that was launched in Halifax on that April day has been a work in progress — and it still is.”

Wilson said the National Park Service has designated three National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom sites in Halifax County. “These sites highlight the efforts of enslaved people to seek freedom for themselves before and during the Civil War. Notably, many of these freedom seekers went on to lead our state and nation as part of the 250-year-long effort to fulfill the ideals outlined in our founding documents, including the Halifax Resolves.”

Two-hundred and 46 years ago, Wilson said, the signers said no to a monarchy. “They laid the groundwork for a government by and for the people. We’ve come a long way and we are still working to form that more perfect union.”

In divisive times, he told the audience, “it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of what brings us together as Americans. Looking forward to America 250, we have the opportunity to remember our past, celebrate the present, and look forward to a promising future.”

In closing, the secretary said democracy was an idea and experiment that became official in Halifax. “Some might celebrate our independence on July 4th. We know it’s really April 12th.

When you see our ‘First in Freedom’ license plates, we’re serious about it.”