President Gerald Ford lit a third lantern at Boston’s Old North Church during the 1975 Bicentennial observance.
Ford traveled to Boston on April 18, 1975, for the ceremony, which symbolized the United States entering its third century. The lantern imagery referred to the famous signal associated with Paul Revere and the opening events of the American Revolution.
The next day, Ford spoke at Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Those battles in April 1775 marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War’s military conflict.
This Bicentennial ceremony is a useful historical predecessor to America250. The 1976 celebration marked 200 years; America250 marks 250 years in 2026.