Fire Chief David Chamberlain reads a section from the Declaration of Independence.
Fire Chief David Chamberlain reads a section from the Declaration of Independence. Credit: Courtesy
Hutch Hutchinson reads from the Declaration of Independence.
Hutch Hutchinson reads from the Declaration of Independence. Credit: Courtesy
Franklin Sterling, who has participated in the tradition since it's inception 26 years ago, reads from the Declaration of Independence.
Franklin Sterling, who has participated in the tradition since it’s inception 26 years ago, reads from the Declaration of Independence. Credit: Courtesy
Residents gather in the Jaffrey Meetinghouse for the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Credit: Courtesy
Ellen Avery, Chair of the Declaration of Independence Committee, checks in participants before Jaffrey’s 26th Annual Reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Credit: Courtesy
Gambrill and Marcus Wagner present a framed reproduction of the Dunlap Broadside to Jaffrey Meetinghouse Committee members Franklin Sterling and Sean Driscoll. The framed broadside, a gift of the Wagners and Hollister families to the town of Jaffrey, will hang in the Meetinghouse Tower.
Credit: Courtesy
Jaffrey Historical Society members Charlie Turcotte and David Kemp arrive at the Jaffrey Meetinghouse with the historical society’s Seagrave fire engine for Jaffrey's 26th Annual Reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Jaffrey Historical Society members Charlie Turcotte and David Kemp arrive at the Jaffrey Meetinghouse with the historical society’s Seagrave fire engine for Jaffrey’s 26th Annual Reading of the Declaration of Independence. Credit: Courtesy

Jaffrey celebrated the Fourth of July with its annual tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence at the town’s historic Meetinghouse, followed by an ice cream social at the horsesheds and on the lawn.

Residents volunteered to read a section of the nation’s founding document, in a tradition that is in its 26th year.

On Sunday, celebrations continued with a town-wide potluck on the lawn of the Civic Center.