ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – On Saturday, the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke hosted the VA250 commission, a group committed to commemorating Virginia’s contributions to American independence and the Revolutionary War.
At the group’s “Salute to Southwest Virginia,” event Saturday afternoon, they celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Fincastle Resolution, when 15 Virginians first declared a desire for independence from the British.
“We’re marking the 250th anniversary of the Fincastle Resolutions,” said VA250 Commission executive director Cheryl Wilson. “The first time that colonists ever declared independence was a cause worth dying for happened right here in Southwest Virginia.”
The group is dedicated to instilling a greater understanding of Virginia’s history in its current residents.
“America was made in Virginia,” said Carly Fiorina, VA250 honorary chair and keynote speaker at Saturday’s event.
At the event, VA250 unveiled a state-of-the-art interactive mobile museum, branded with the phrase, “Out of many, one,” translated to the more well-known “E pluribus unum” in Latin.
The mobile museum’s wheels carry hundreds of years of history in hopes of connecting its visitors more deeply with their past.
“If we do not know where we come from, where and what we come from, and how we came to be, then we do not know who we are,” said Fiorina.
The mobile museum is parked in front of the O. Winston Link Museum and will remain there for a week before moving on to Floyd County.
It is open to the public from 10 am-5 pm Sunday and Monday but will only host school events and field trips from Tuesday to Friday.
Inside the museum are videos, interactive maps, a hologram of Patrick Henry, the opportunity to take a U.S. Citizenship Test and so much more.
All of VA250’s initiatives are centered around encouraging civic renewal and a greater understanding of Virginia’s role in the nation’s origins and independence.
“We’re connected to history through time and to me that’s what’s so powerful about a 250th moment,” said Wilson. “There will be so many of them and we invite everyone to travel along with us.”