Read time: 5 min.

If you’ve already forgotten it, yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of the United States- the nation’s semiquincentennial. It’s a milestone well worth celebrating! Here in Delaware County, members of the Paul Revere Chapter of the DAR have embraced the occasion with vigor. They’ve devoted countless hours to commemorating the Revolutionary War Patriots who eventually made Delaware County their home. Recently, one of those efforts finally began to publicly unfold, and I’m especially proud and honored to have played a small part in bringing it to life.

Last summer, Kathi Hirons Kesterson, Regent of Muncie’s Paul Revere Chapter of the DAR, approached me with an exciting idea. She wanted to tell the stories of Delaware County’s Revolutionary War Patriots in a way they’d never been told before. Rather than leaving them as distant names buried in old records, we set out to reintroduce them as neighbors- real people, real heroes, and men who once walked the very same ground we do today. There’s still work ahead of us, but I think we’ve accomplished what we set out to do.

Since last September, Kathi has researched and summarized the lives of Delaware County’s Revolutionary War Patriots, while I’ve had the privilege of telling their stories through a series of biographies here. It was a challenging and rewarding project, and I’m glad they’re hosted here, but the articles Kathi and I collaborated on were always meant to be more than online history lessons. After all, wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone visiting one of these Patriots’ graves could discover the person behind the name instead of learning only what fit on a headstone or cenotaph?

Kathi certainly thought so, and the Paul Revere Chapter successfully secured a grant from Indiana’s America 250 Semiquincentennial Commission that allowed the group to install durable metal signage at each Patriot’s grave. Each features a QR code that instantly connects visitors to that Patriot’s full story, here on my blog, transforming a simple cemetery visit into a chance to meet one of Delaware County’s earliest American heroes. Go ahead- try it! Open your camera app up and scan the photo below.

The signs are attractive without competing with the monuments they’re meant to complement. Their patriotic color scheme stands out just enough to catch a visitor’s eye, and the QR code is easy to scan with any modern smartphone. Best of all, they’re intentionally unobtrusive. Rather than distracting from the historic marker, they invite visitors to pause, learn, and discover the remarkable story behind the stone. Advanced Signs & Graphics of Muncie did a phenomenal job.

As of today, the signs have been installed at a handful of burial grounds, including Beech Grove Cemetery in Muncie. The rest will roll out over the next few days. Kathi had shown me a mockup early last month, but seeing them in place for the first time was surprisingly moving. For months, this project had existed as research notes, draft biographies, old pension files, testimonies, and long conversations about how best to honor these men. Yesterday, it finally became something tangible. Now, anyone who pauses at one of these graves can scan a code with their phone and spend a few minutes learning about the life behind the monument. Suddenly, a distance of 250 years feels a little shorter.

If you happen to visit one of Delaware County’s Patriot cemeteries over the coming weeks, I hope you’ll take a moment to scan one of the new signs. Behind each stone is a story that deserves to be remembered- not just on America’s 250th birthday, but for many anniversaries to come. That said, the semiquincentennial celebration is only just getting underway here in Delaware County.

Kathi and Theresa Green, Indiana State DAR Registrar, will continue the conversation at Muncie’s Carnegie Library on July 9 during a screening of selected scenes from Ken Burns’ The American Revolution. The event will also honor the Patriots buried here in Delaware County, If all goes according to plan, I’ll be there in the audience. 

America250 is a celebration of the birth of a nation. Just as importantly, though, it’s an opportunity to remember the ordinary men and women who made that nation possible. Delaware County’s Revolutionary War Patriots left behind more than names carved into marble. They left families, communities, and a legacy that eventually reached all the way to the place we call home today.