Rare Declaration of Independence to stop in Bath this week

A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence is on view at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, giving Sagadahoc County residents a chance to see one of 26 surviving copies of the first printing without leaving town. The stop runs July 17 and 18 at 243 Washington St. in Bath, with free admission and discounted cruises tied to the visit.

Maine Historical Society is organizing the statewide tour as an in-person series that will carry the Declaration to all 16 Maine counties from July to October 2026. The museum is promoting the Bath appearance as “Declaration of Independence | Free Admission & Discounted Cruises,” turning the weekend into both a historical display and a local outing on the waterfront.

The document, also referred to in event materials as the Dunlap broadside, is part of Maine Historical Society’s “Statewide Tour of the Declaration of Independence” and its broader “Revolutionary Maine: America at 250” programming. The statewide effort is built around a simple idea: bring a founding-era artifact into communities across Maine instead of asking people to travel to one central site.

For Bath, the setting matters as much as the object. Maine Maritime Museum is already one of the city’s best-known cultural institutions, rooted in shipbuilding and coastal history, and the Declaration’s stop fits a downtown that draws visitors for maritime exhibits, the Kennebec River, and the city’s industrial heritage. The museum’s location at 243 Washington St. places the display within easy reach of local families, students, and visitors passing through Sagadahoc County.

The tour is scheduled to continue through the fall, with weekly appearances in libraries, museums, and other public spaces across Maine’s counties. Maine Historical Society’s own materials describe the project this way: “From July to October 2026, the Declaration will travel across Maine to all 16 counties with great pomp and circumstance.” For Bath, that means a brief but unusually accessible chance to stand in front of a document that helped define the country’s founding and is rarely seen in person outside major collections.

The timing gives the stop an immediate local draw. With the Declaration in Bath for only two days, the museum’s free admission and cruise offers make the visit especially visible for residents who want a summer event that connects Sagadahoc County’s own public history with the national story of independence.