Commemorative Burke250 T-shirts and other merchandise are available at the Burke County Travel and Tourism Office at 140 N. Sterling St. in Morganton. T-shirts come in heather gray and light blue and cost $20.
After months of consideration, Burke County’s America250 Committee has finally chosen an Independence Day event: a bigger-than-ever Fourth of July parade in Glen Alpine to celebrate 250 years of American independence.
Committee Chairman and Burke County Tourism CEO Ed Phillips announced the decision at the 2026 commissioners’ budget and strategic work session last Friday.
America250 is a national initiative to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Many counties, including Burke, have local chapters that work to generate excitement for the nation’s milestone anniversary.
Burke’s committee has made public appearances and hosted events for the last six months to draw attention to the big day.
Phillips said the committee kicked around the possibility of fireworks shows or reviving Morganton’s downtown July 4 parade, but those ideas were not feasible.
A one-off parade specifically celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary was discussed, Phillips said, but the committee decided that was not the best use of its resources.
Phillips then talked to Glen Alpine officials.
“They’re (Glen Alpine) super excited for this to be the premier Fourth of July semiquincentennial parade for Burke County,” Phillips said. “So that will take place on the Fourth of July, that Saturday morning, and there may be a little bit of programming after the parade.”
BURKE COUNTY HISTORY
Phillips also floated the idea of the Historic Burke Foundation creating a video about the county’s role in the Revolutionary War for fourth grade classrooms.
Traditionally, the Historic Burke Foundation holds an outreach each September to educate fourth graders on the county’s role in the American Revolution. The event is normally held at Quaker Meadows or Catawba Meadows.
That outreach didn’t happen in 2025 due to aging volunteers, Phillips said.
“I met with Burke County Public Schools (BCPS) earlier last week to talk about the future of the program and possibly creating a video for in-class use, along with historical reenactors at each school,” Phillips said.
Phillips said there is no fourth-grade curriculum at BCPS that specifically covers Burke County history.
When Phillips asked his daughters, both in their 30s and both Freedom High School graduates, where the school’s name came from, neither remembered. They did not remember how Independence Boulevard got its name, either.
“So, I think we’re onto a good plan to have a curriculum in fourth grade in the fall that would teach Burke County history and the contribution that Burke County citizens made to the American Revolution,” Phillips said.
OTHER EVENTS
Leading up to the July holiday, the America250 committee will also install a time capsule at the county Register of Deeds’ office and plant a Liberty Tree in Freedom Park.
The time capsule will be built by students and faculty at Western Piedmont Community College. The contents to be sealed inside are yet to be decided, but the capsule will be on display in the Register of Deeds’ lobby until the nation’s 300th anniversary in 2076.
No date has been set for sealing and installing the time capsule.
In partnership with the City of Morganton, the committee will also plant a Liberty Tree in late March.
Phillips said the tree is a 14- to 15-foot-tall fire maple that was grown in Burke County. The tree was purchased from Fitzgerald Nursery, Inc., a local business founded in 1964.
