photo by: Contributed

Photos and artifacts are displayed as part of a special exhibit at the Watkins Museum, 1047 Massachusetts St., detailing how Douglas County marked the country's Bicentennial.

As the United States soon celebrates its 250th anniversary, the Watkins Museum will open a special exhibit detailing how Douglas County celebrated the country’s Bicentennial 50 years ago.

The Watkins Museum announced in a press release Thursday a special exhibit called “America’s Bicentennial in Douglas County.” The exhibit, which opens Friday, features photographs from the Bicentennial parade down Massachusetts Street in 1976, commemorative artifacts of the Bicentennial and model train cars from a “Spirit of America” set made to celebrate the event.

Andrew Stockmann, the museum’s curator of exhibitions, said in a statement the exhibition hopes to “balance the patriotic nature” of the 200th anniversary celebration while comparing the country’s preparations for the celebration and commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary this year.

Steve Nowak, the museum’s executive director, said in a statement this exhibition was a “walk down memory lane” for him as he remembered the celebrations in 1976 and the excitement ahead of the Fourth of July. He hopes the exhibit helps visitors who remember the occasion “look back fondly” on those events while providing for younger visitors a “a perspective on how our nation has changed in 50 years.”

The exhibition will be on view on the museum’s first floor community gallery from June 12 to August 15. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission to the museum and all its exhibits is free.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

The Watkins Museum of History is pictured Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.