By Deborah Rose
Editor/Writer for NewMilfordNow.org
NEW MILFORD—The possible existence of time travel has long been a popular topic. Come Dec. 16, it will be possible in New Milford.
Those who visit the northern end of the Village Green will be able to step back in time—to Dec. 16, 1773, to be exact—to experience a family-friendly reenactment of an historical American event, the Boston Tea Party.
The Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea Party as a protest that targeted the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies.
The protestors destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company by throwing more than 300 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The episode was considered an act of treason by the British government and led into the American Revolution.
Actors will portray Colonialists among the crowd, an abbreviated reading of a 1773 sermon by the Rev. Simeon Howard will be held, and attendees will have an opportunity to purchase commemorative tea and throw lightweight chests of tea overboard from a mock trade ship, mirroring the actions of the protestors in 1773.
“This will be a great way for people of all ages to experience a taste of American history,” Heidi Norcross, chair of the Town of New Milford’s New Milford Celebrates America 250! Committee, said of the reenactment.
The 2 p.m. event, which is co-sponsored by the committee and the Roger Sherman Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, recognizes the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which led into the American Revolution.
“We’re on the cusp of this milestone anniversary of the American Revolution,” Norcross said. “And the Boston Tea Party played a pivotal role propelling the revolution forward.”
The event is one of many the committee will present in town in the coming months and years, culminating with the grand celebration of America’s 250th birthday in 2026.
The reenactment is the committee’s second event, this time incorporating a fundraising component. Individuals interested in boarding the volunteer-made ship to toss over a lightweight replica chest of tea will be asked to pay $5 and receive a commemorative souvenir box or pay $1 and receive one commemorative tea bag.
Michael Bird, a committee member and first vice president of Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revolution, related how “in this day and age, everyone and anyone seems to believe that to protest the actions of their government, be it local, state or federal is a God-given right and privilege.
“But in reality, it is something that’s only about 250 years old and is truly an American gift to the world,” he emphasized.
This was published with permission from www.NewMilfordNow.org
