July 4, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Through ND250, North Dakota joins this historic milestone with opportunities to celebrate and reflect on our state’s role in the American story, honor the contributions of all North Dakotans and Americans, and look ahead to the future we create for generations to come.
“This milestone offers a meaningful opportunity for North Dakotans to come together and reflect on the values that shaped the United States into the greatest nation in the world. North Dakota is proud to play a leading role in honoring America’s 250th anniversary through education, remembrance and civic engagement, while paying tribute to the generations of exceptional North Dakotans who continue to define our state and contribute to the American success story."
-Kelly Armstrong, Governor
“ND250 and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the totality of North Dakotas history and what it means to be both an American and North Dakotan. We are excited about taking this opportunity to ask North Dakotans what their ancestors were doing 250 years ago, and what it means to them today to be an American.”
-Bill Peterson, SHSND Director and ND 250 Commission Chair
7/4/26
📺 The livestream begins at 10:00 AM MT
🎀 The Grand Opening Ceremony begins precisely at 10:27 AM MT
Be there the moment it begins. On America's 250th birthday, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens its doors atop a mesa overlooking the Little Missouri River — and the livestream brings the whole ceremony to you.
After losing his wife and his mother on the same day in 1884, a heartbroken young Theodore Roosevelt came west to this rugged country to start again. The Badlands remade him — and shaped the conservationist and leader the nation would come to know. Generations later, the Library rises from the same landscape that changed his life.
7/4/26
The livestream begins at 8:00 PM MT
✨ Eyes on the Stars begins at 8:30 PM MT
"Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground." — Theodore Roosevelt
After sundown on America's 250th birthday, the Badlands sky becomes the canvas. Eyes on the Stars choreographs a fleet of drones into a moving portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, the American West, and the country he helped conserve — storytelling drawn in light above the buttes.
It's the close of a historic day: the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, rising from the same rugged country that remade a grieving young Roosevelt more than a century ago. The land that shaped him, lit up overhead.
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Theodore Roosevelt is one of the most intriguing figures in our nation’s history.
TR was a New Yorker by chance, and a North Dakotan by choice; he was an easterner and a westerner, but above all he was quintessentially American.
The TR Presidential Library & Museum will not be a box in the Badlands with artifacts under glass; the TR Library, like TR’s life, will be an experience. -Edward F.O'keefe
North Dakota’s Liberty Bell replica is now on view at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. After being stored in the state museum collections since 2015, the full-size bronze replica now offers visitors a connection to a significant symbol of American independence.
Opening July 1st
The public is invited to the opening of the State Historical Society of North Dakota’s new exhibit, “North Dakota 250 Road Trip: Our American Story,” with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1, at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck.
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Categories: ND America 250th
Categories: ND America 250th
Categories: ND America 250th
Categories: ND America 250th
Categories: ND America 250th




