Constitution exhibit set up at museum
By Sam Atkins
Published in News on September 23, 2004 2:00 PM
A landmark legal document of the United States is being celebrated this week, and the Wayne County Museum is using an exhibit to commemorate it.
This week is Constitution Week, marking the 217th anniversary of the framing of the document that remains the framework of democracy.
To commemorate the week, the museum has a new exhibit, which replaces the "Remembering Adamsville" display. It will be up until mid-October.
Charles B. Ellis, a Wayne County Historical Association member, and Mary Lou Park, vice regent of the David Williams Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, donated many of the items in the exhibit. Ellis' wife, Betty, is the chapter's regent.
"We wanted to keep patriotism in front of the public," said Ellis.
The exhibit is sponsored by the DAR and includes a book with biographies and portraits of all the presidents up to Theodore Roosevelt.
It also has these items: copies of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, which were borrowed from the Cotton Museum in Pikeville; books on the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence; a copy of The American's Creed, which is used to open all DAR meetings; reproductions of colonial money from different colonies; a picture of George Washington crossing the Delaware; and other information on the Constitution.
The Constitution contains the primary laws of the U.S. government. It describes the three chief branches of government and their jurisdictions. It also outlines the basic rights of U.S. citizens.
It is the oldest federal constitution in existence and was framed by a convention of delegates from 12 of the 13 original states in Philadelphia in May 1787. The signers included James Madison, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.
Ellis encourages everyone to visit the exhibit and all of the other exhibits at the museum. The museum's hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, or by appointment. It can accommodate day cares, school field trips and other groups and is handicapped-accessible.