By Dirk Langeveld

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Museum and History Center will debut a new mural commemorating a British raid on the town during the Revolutionary War, the first in a slate of exhibitions, events, and programming to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The unveiling of the mural will take place on Sunday, January 11th. The first in a series of special occasions to celebrate the semiquincentennial of the United States, the mural will depict a British raid on Fairfield that took place on July 7, 1779.

In that attack, 2,000 British and Hessian troops under General William Tryon attacked the town as part of a series of coastal attacks in the American colonies. A punitive action in response to Fairfield’s supplying of Continental troops and the use of Black Rock Harbor for privateering, the raid destroyed much of the community.

Fairfield was slow to recover from the raid, with maritime trade largely shifting to Bridgeport. When President George Washington visited a decade later, he noted how “the destructive evidences of British cruelty are [still] visible both in Norwalk and Fairfield.” A current exhibition on the Western Reserve, land claimed by Connecticut as far west as present day Ohio, is on view through April 5 and includes information on how many Fairfield residents resettled in this area after the raid.

The new mural, painted by artist Harley Bartlett and donated by Joyce Hergenhen, will be in the museum’s signature “Creating Community” exhibition area. It will complement an existing one of Black Rock Harbor created by artist Robert Lambdin in 1948.

Other current and planned exhibitions and programming next year include:

• “Eat, Drink, and Start a Revolution! Fairfield’s Taverns,” an exhibition on colonial taverns and how they provided a space for citizens to debate and refine democratic ideas, will be on view through May 3rd
• “Fairfield: 1776 to Today,” which will debut in April and explore how the community has changed over 250 years and how its residents have advanced ideals of Declaration
• “Portraits of Fairfield,” which will debut in May and feature an outdoor display of 15 large-scale photographic portraits of Fairfield residents
• A family-friendly event on the Museum Commons on July 4th, which will include a reading of the Declaration of Independence and other performances
• A Revolutionary War reenactment, which is being planned for September

The museum hopes that visitors will “experience history in a way that brings us together as a community, sparks dialogue across generations, and inspires the leaders of tomorrow.” Several exhibitions and programs have already been scheduled, and more will be announced in 2026.

“I think everyone here is really looking forward to kicking things off, sharing all these different exhibits and programs with the community, and getting their involvement,” said Rachel Hollis, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Fairfield Museum and History Center.

The Fairfield Museum and History Center is collaborating with several other historical organizations to plan the programming. It has also set an ambitious fundraising goal of $275,000, and hopes to achieve this result by February.

For more information, visit the museum’s website here.

Expanded coverage of Fairfield County cultural events is made possible with support from the Fairfield University Quick Center for the Arts.