Award from the Museums for America grant program supports a national 250th Anniversary exhibition program to tell the stories of America’s War for Independence
Fort Ticonderoga a museum, National Historic Landmark, and major cultural destination, has received a competitive grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in the amount of $237,630 to support a major new 250th Anniversary exhibit program entitled, A Revolutionary Anthology. The first year of this exhibit program, A Revolutionary Anthology: Power of Place, will open to the public in May of 2024.
“Fort Ticonderoga will implement a multi-year project that will provide visitors with new methods to understand the people and events of the American Revolution as the nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the War for Independence,” said Beth L. Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO. “Rare artifacts, tactile experiences, public tours, and a robust online presence with audio and video content will ensure universal accessibility and an enhanced understanding of the Revolution’s significance for all guests.”
On display will be hundreds of artifacts from Fort Ticonderoga’s singular collection of 18th-century material, as well as never-before-seen artifacts from the newly acquired Robert Nittolo Collection. Rare arms from the battlefields of the Revolution, artwork, soldiers’ equipment, and uniforms from British and French soldiers will be a highlight of these exhibits for the next 5 years. Many of these artifacts are connected to specific individuals whose experiences during the Revolution will provide a personal perspective to the monumental events of the American Revolution.
“The support from IMLS is a ringing endorsement of the significance of Fort Ticonderoga’s collection and our museum’s ability to activate it in innovative ways during the 250th Anniversary of the War for American Independence,” said Fort Ticonderoga Curator, Dr. Matthew Keagle. “We are thrilled to upgrade our exhibition capacity to make accessible more of our collection. With the recently acquired Robert Nittolo Collection, including many artifacts that have never been on public display, we will tell a bigger, richer story about this earth-shattering historic event.”
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-253283-OMS023]
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. The grants advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Fort Ticonderoga
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga is a historic site, museum, center of learning and major cultural destination. Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 70,000 visitors each year on site with an economic impact of more than $12 million annually and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October. Fort Ticonderoga is owned and operated by The Fort Ticonderoga Association, a non-profit educational organization which serves its mission to preserve, educate and provoke an active discussion about the past and its importance to present and future generations. Fort Ticonderoga reaches more than 20 million people through its digital outreach each year through its Center for Digital History and is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts. To view Fort Ticonderoga’s electronic press kit, click here. © The Fort Ticonderoga Association. 2023 All Rights Reserved.
Photo: John Gordon’s musket, part of the Robert Nittolo Collection, will be on display as part of this exhibit. Gordon was mortally wounded in the fighting during the Battle of Bunker Hill in Colonel William Prescott’s Regiment on June 17, 1775.