MILFORD, Ohio — A cross-country relay carrying a replica of the Declaration of Independence will pass through Clermont County next week, with stops planned in Milford and Williamsburg as part of a nationwide celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, according to Discover Clermont, the county’s tourism bureau.
The American Discovery Trail 250 Relay, also known as the America 250 Relay, is traveling 6,800 miles across the country along the American Discovery Trail, the first coast-to-coast hiking and biking route in the United States, Discover Clermont said in a social media post. The nonprofit American Discovery Trail Society, based in Front Royal, Virginia, organizes the relay, which launched at Point Reyes National Seashore in California and is scheduled to finish at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware around Thanksgiving.
Locally, the relay is scheduled to arrive in Milford on Monday, Oct. 26, before continuing to Williamsburg on Tuesday, Oct. 27, Discover Clermont said. The trail’s cross-country route splits into northern and southern branches near Denver and rejoins near Cincinnati before continuing east, according to the trail society.
The relay welcomes walkers, runners, bicyclists and other participants to join along the route, Discover Clermont said. Route details and sign-up opportunities are posted on the trail society’s online relay calendar at discoverytrail.org.
The relay is part of the America250 celebration marking the semiquincentennial — 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. Congress established the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016 to organize a nationwide observance of the anniversary.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Convention & Visitors Bureau (Discover Clermont).