Artist Carol Cecere shows longtime friend Kerry Rager around her interpretation of Cambria’s America250 bell, featuring county landmarks such as the Inclined Plane and Sargent’s Stadium at the point, at its unveiling in January. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

Pennsylvania has been fighting, spending and planting its way toward July 4 for years. The state sued the Trump administration to protect $18 million in security funding. Philadelphia has committed $620 million. And a secret society of Freemasons quietly planted a liberty tree in all 67 counties. Welcome to America’s 250th birthday — Pennsylvania style.

Organizing for Pennsylvania’s celebration of the United States semiquincentennial, the formal term for the 250th anniversary, began eight years ago when former Gov. Tom Wolf established the Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial, or America250PA. That committee has received $12 million in state funding and $9.9 million in private funding for events around the state.

The committee funding is just a drop in the bucket compared to the full price tag for state and local governments looking to capitalize on the moment, as the nation turns its eyes to the City of Brotherly Love, the place where the founders declared independence in 1776 and, eleven years later, forged the Constitution that would bind the nation together.

Pennsylvania and 11 other states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington — and the District of Columbia sued the federal government, alleging the Trump administration was threatening to withhold funding from states that did not cooperate with immigration enforcement. Pennsylvania officials said $18 million in Urban Area Security Initiative funding, needed to prepare for the 250th celebrations, was in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

A federal court sided with the states in December, ordering the funding restored. In early May, Shapiro announced that a court victory had forced federal officials to release the funding while blasting Trump for playing games with the federal dollars.

“The Trump Administration’s politicization of public safety and emergency preparedness funding — including money for disaster response, threat detection, and support for first responders — was reckless and dangerous, especially when we are expecting to host millions of visitors to celebrate America’s 250th Birthday,” Shapiro said in a statement posted on X.

The federal funding dispute complicated security planning, even as Philadelphia had already committed to a far larger investment to cope with the crush of tourists expected in the coming days.

Philadelphia budgeted $620 million to prepare for the celebration, the biggest chunk — $500 million — pegged for improvements to Philadelphia International Airport.

The remaining $120 million includes $70 million for first responders and emergency planning, $45 million for special events and $4.6 million for neighborhood beautification and mural arts.

Pennsylvania’s state budget included another $50 million for the Marketing to Attract Marquis Events program, covering security, operations, marketing and other costs associated with the 250th celebration and a handful of other major events, including the NFL Draft held in Pittsburgh in April, the World Cup matches held in Philadelphia in June — including a Round of 16 match on July 4 — and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game being held in Philadelphia later in the month.

The state funding also provided $675,000 to the Commonwealth Concert Series, free concerts with national performing artists being held around the state — a free, five-city tour running from State College to Pittsburgh, including a concert in Point State Park in Pittsburgh co-headlined by Nelly and Third Eye Blind.

But the ledger lines only tell part of the story. While officials battled over federal grants and finalized security budgets, a parallel effort was quietly taking root across the state – one measured not in millions but in saplings, bronze castings, and reclaimed city blocks. From a coal country town that tore down blighted homes to plant a tree, to a farm in the mountains that preserved the legacy of a free Black Revolutionary War veteran, organizers set out to make sure this anniversary belonged to all 67 counties.

Matthew Darragh, chief of staff for America250PA, told CapitolWire/State Affairs that officials began their 250th planning by committing to ensuring that the celebration was enjoyed by as many Pennsylvanians and in as many Pennsylvania communities as possible.

“We really did want to accentuate all 67 counties and sort of the full scope of the 250-year history,” he said, noting that in some cases, commemorations acknowledge events that predated the nation’s founding, including at French and Indian War sites in western Pennsylvania.

Liberty Trees

In one regard, Pennsylvania took a cue from its neighbor to the south, Maryland.

While national organizers have announced plans to plant 250 Liberty Trees, Maryland and Pennsylvania are among the states that have embarked on more ambitious Liberty Tree efforts.

While the original Liberty Tree in Boston was cut down during the British occupation of Boston in 1775, patriots around the country began designating their own Liberty Trees in solidarity with their Boston compatriots. Maryland’s Liberty Tree in Annapolis survived until 1999. Descendants of that tree are now being used to plant the new Liberty Trees — Maryland officials say they will plant one in each of that state’s 23 counties and Baltimore City while Pennsylvania will plant trees in all 67 of its counties.

“The primary sponsor on that project was actually the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, the Masons,” Darragh said. “We worked with the Masons to make sure that there’s a certified Liberty Tree, a descendent Liberty Tree in all 67 counties. The one in Philly was actually like the 67th. It is in Washington Square, not far from the tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolution. It’s cool. It’s truly like a living connection to that 1776 moment. That’s something that’s kind of grown over time and hopefully will become something that people might be having events there in 50 years celebrating the Tricentennial.”

In Tamaqua in Schuylkill County, officials knocked down blighted homes and established a park to house their Liberty Tree, dubbing the new space, Liberty Tree Park.

Liberty Bells

Similarly, the organizing committee has also embarked on a project honoring the place of the Liberty Bell in our nation’s history. The Liberty Bell, housed at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, has become an icon synonymous with Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.The state leaned into that identity — adopting new license plate designs featuring the Liberty Bell in May 2025 — while also working to spread replicas of the bell to underappreciated historic sites across the state.

As part of the 250th celebration, organizers are placing commemorative bells across the state through a public art initiative. Additionally, officials are placing Liberty Bell replicas at significant but underappreciated historic landmarks, Darragh said.

Liberty Bell replica sites

— The Dennis Farm, a 153-acre farm in Susquehanna County, settled by Prince Perkins, a free Black Revolutionary War veteran

— Camp Security, the only remained undeveloped Revolutionary War prisoner-of-war camp in the United States, located in York County

— The former Zion’s Reformed United Church of Christ in Allentown — where the Liberty Bell was hidden from September 1777 to June 1778 before British forces withdrew. The building has since changed hands, and the replica bell now stands as an outdoor landmark at the site.

Darragh said the bell replicas have had an unexpected side effect.

“They’ve actually taken a road trip and driven around to see a bunch of these bells and kind of gamified it,” he said.

America250 funding

Other 250th-related initiatives receiving state funds:

— 9/11 trail extension in Somerset County — $639,300

— Young People’s National Continental Congress in Philadelphia — $250,000

— Washington’s Crossing in Bucks County — $100,000

— Battle of Gettysburg Commemoration, Adams County — $125,000