Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC) and Flagpole Photographers Camera Club have joined together to present small snippets of what it was like to live in Newtown in 1776, the year the Declaration of Independence was signed, as well as celebrate America’s 250th birthday

The exhibit, “Newtown in 1776. Celebrating the Nation's 250th anniversary," is in Newtown Municipal Art Gallery through July 31. The gallery, managed by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, is open weekdays from 7 am until 5 pm and Monday through Thursday evenings when Town boards or commissions are conducting meetings.

Prominently featured in the gallery are photographs of Newtown by Bill Glass, the grand marshal of the 2026 Newtown Labor Day Parade.

In a series of additional photographs, Rhonda and Shane Cullens are sharing images of local homes before 1776 and noting the houses’ ages and locations. Eight Flagpole Photographers Camera Club members contributed another 107 photos of Newtown for this exhibit.

NCAC Chairman Laura Lerman has created a multi-media exhibit of posters that include the population of Newtown in 1776, the food the colonists ate, and a quick history of the Whigs versus the Tories in Newtown during the war. There are QR codes expanding on the information presented, including a recipe for apple pan dowdy, a favorite dessert, and a recording of “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” a song sung by the troops fighting the British during the Revolutionary War and which became the Connecticut state song in 1978.

Finally, the last poster notes that, unlike surrounding towns, Newtown was known for supporting the Tories, loyalists to the Crown.

For those who want to learn more about Newtown’s history, accessing the QR code on the last poster will lead visitors to the website of Newtown Historical Society.