Three exhibitions this Semiquincentennial season are highlighting local connections to the country’s founding 250 years ago.

The first is “Newtown: An American Town,” on view within The Mary Hawley Gallery and adjacent annex room on the third floor of C.H. Booth Library. A collaborative exhibit between the library and Newtown Historical Society, the exhibition “explores the intersection of local and national history using the words of the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address” as its guide. Curators used those documents to illustrate how the histories of Newtown and Connecticut reflect the country’s founding ideals.

Newspaper clippings, photos of historic homes, and archive materials including clothing, manufacturing items, and even part of the Charter Oak have all been arranged to follow Newtown’s history as it relates to this country’s history.

A pair of easels in the gallery room hold replicas of the documents the presentation is based upon. One easel offers a copy of Lincoln’s first draft of the Gettysburg Address, an image of the president, and a full printout of the historic speech. Another easel offers a framed copy of The Declaration of Independence.

Between the framed pieces, the case along the southern gallery wall explores the rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, or how early settlers made their living and sought freedom of religion.

The vertical case on the eastern gallery wall features the line “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” This case outlines some of the darker aspects of Newtown’s history, including slavery and racism. A bill of sale from 1813 shows a 3-year-old girl named Genny being sold for 25 cents. The same case shares the story of John Ray and Mary Baptist, who fled “the racism and inequality of their native North Carolina to seek a new life in Newtown,” according to exhibit notes.

Unfortunately, the wedding of Miss Baptist and Mr Ray, “the popular and gentlemanly driver of the stage connected with the Newtown,” as he was described in a July 8, 1898 front page story of The Newtown Bee included in the display, ended in a very unfortunate spectacle for the newlyweds.

The story of the Charter Oak is shared within the case on the opposite wall, and “The People” — what exhibition notes call the common thread throughout American history — are featured on the room’s northern wall. Photos of notable residents from different eras range from building namesake Cyrenius H. Booth, opera singer and actress Grace Moore, magician John Mulholland, and Newtown Hook & Ladder Firefighter Alfred Briscoe to artist and dancer Stella Bloch, illustrator and naturalist William H. Gibson, and Scrabble developer James Brunot, among others.

Visitors to the exhibit are invited to share photos of themselves to be added to the collection. Booth Library Director Jennifer Nash this week said there are plans to expand the exhibition. Readers are invited to send their photos, along with their claim to fame (career, hobby, accomplishment), in five words or less, to library employee and Town Historian Ben Cruson at BCruson@chboothlibrary.org.

Readers are also encouraged to share photos of late residents, with the same details, for inclusion in the future presentation.

In the center of the room, one case presents the names of the 188 Newtown men who served during the Revolutionary War. The same case celebrates the four Connecticut signers of The Declaration of Independence. An adjacent case shares the names of those who lived in town and served in the War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

The adjacent annex features a large framed illustration of Rochambeau’s March, the route followed in 1781 by French troops led by Comte de Rochambeau that included an overnight stop in Newtown before ultimately meeting with General George Washington and his troops in Stony Point, N.Y. A display case below the framed illustration explains the importance of Rochambeau, the march, and the continued influence on local lore.

An adjacent horizontal display case celebrates 150 years of a Newtown landmark that has been in place since 1876. The first Newtown Liberty Pole was installed in July 1876 to celebrate the nation’s centennial. A slab from the third and final wooden flagpole and the rope cleat from the same flagpole are included in the look through the historic landmark’s history.

The annex also presents one chair from a set of four Bicentennial Hitchcock chairs produced in 1976 for the US Bicentennial. Each chair celebrates one of the country’s early presidents. The one currently on view includes a silhouette of George Washington and a depiction of Mount Vernon. The additional chairs from the set will be presented in August, October, and December.

Nash this week said the display will “remain up for quite a while.” The presentation can be viewed during current regular library hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am-8 pm; and Friday and Saturday, 9:30 am-5 pm.

Next week: Semiquincentennial displays at Newtown Municipal Center.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.