Week of July 4
[Image: “The Day We Celebrate," 1876. Engraving by John C. McRae, NY, after a painting by Frederic A. Chapman.]
The setting being Piermont, NY.
One of the earliest known paintings of a July Fourth observance, it was the prototype for a highly popular 1875 lithograph distributed by John C. McRae in anticipation of the 1876 Centennial.
The image appeared (courtesy of the Newington-Cropsey Foundation) in South of the Mountains, vol. 36, no. 4, 1992. It accompanied the article “Life On and Off the Farm: Diaries of Helen Verbryck Clark, 1876 and 1877," by Firth Haring Fabend.
Two little diaries kept by Helen Verbryck Clark of Sparkill were located in the Special Collections of the New York State Historical Association at Cooperstown, New York.
The diaries, which cover the period from March 12, 1876, to the end of 1877, are a treasure of information not only about the inner workings of Helen’s well-run household and her husband’s efforts as a small farmer, but also about the social, cultural, and leisuretime pursuits of our forebears in Victorian southern Rockland County.
Here is an excerpt from the article about the Fourth of July and this image:
“All holidays were observed with special church services, and the Fourth of July was no exception. The year 1876 was the Centennial of the nation’s independence, a state occasion with a strong religious component, and in the days leading up to it, Cornelius and the men raised a flagpole in the dooryard and all went to church on the Sunday preceding to hear Mr. Stitt preach a Centennial sermon. 'Our nation’s birthday, one hundred years of liberty. Thanks to a kind Providence,' Helen writes. Solemnly she adds that the day 'was more universally observed than usual.' In fact, we know from a painting by Frederic Chapman, recently discovered, that Piermont, that momentous day in 1876, was a scene of great 'patriotic revelry,' and Helen supplies some details: a baseball game between the Sparkill Club and a Brooklyn club, the sending aloft of balloons, and a display of fireworks. Elisha Ruckman’s Tappan mansion (on the 'upper road,' today’s Western Highway) was 'grandly illuminated' on the night of the Fourth, and the huge celebratory bonfire at the south end of Ruckman’s lot could be seen for miles."
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To read the full article in the digitized issue of South of the Mountains, visit our archive at NYHeritage.org here (desktop viewing recommended): https://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/hsrc/id/3315/rec/1
On behalf of everyone at the HSRC, we hope you enjoy a safe and happy Independence Day!
This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2025 by The Historical Society of Rockland County. #FBF Flashback Friday may be reprinted only with written permission from the HSRC. To learn about the HSRC’s mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.
