Franklin County archivist highlights Freedom Shrine panels linking local 1776 events to Declaration of Independence

Michelle Wade, archivist for Franklin County, Pennsylvania, said the county is displaying selected panels from the Exchange Club Freedom Shrine in a long case on the courthouse annex’s first-floor hallway as part of America’s 250th anniversary commemoration.

Wade said the panels, which the county received in 1992 from the Exchange Club of Chambersburg, are being used “as the core of this display” to explore local themes that she described as having been “impactful to the entire country and led toward the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” She noted the Exchange Club has placed Freedom Shrine displays in public buildings across the country since the 1950s.

Because of limited space, Wade said the full Freedom Shrine — which typically includes dozens of replica documents — could not be shown in its entirety; the county selected “just a few documents.” She said staff deliberately linked those documents to events that took place in what is now Franklin County in 1776 to illustrate how local residents shared many of the ideals that shaped the nation’s founding. “We decided to take these documents and link the documents to things that were happening here in what’s now Franklin County in 1776,” she said.

The exhibit is located in a display case running the length of the courthouse annex hallway on the first floor, Wade said. No vote or formal action was recorded during the remarks; Wade presented the display and explained its rationale to visitors.