Hillsdale College Blake Center To Sponsor Somers America250 Celebration
The Center will also host an open house featuring the College’s American Art Collection.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Connecticut, is one of the sponsors of the town’s America250 Celebration on Aug. 15. The celebration will include concerts and performances, family and children’s activities, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a drone show, and more.
The celebration will begin at noon in Field Road Park.
The Blake Center is also hosting an open house during the celebration at its main building, which is an exterior replica of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s neoclassical Virginia home.
The open house will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 732 Hall Hill Road in Somers.
During the open house, the College’s American Art Collection will be on display for public viewing. The collection features several sculptures and many portraits of America’s founders, including original paintings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as master copies and contemporary works.
As part of its ongoing celebration of America’s semiquincentennial, the Blake Center is also hosting a lecture series throughout the year titled “America at 250.” The series highlights influential figures whose contributions to early American culture helped define what it means to be an American.
- More information about the America250 celebration
- More information about the American Art Collection
- More information about the “America at 250” lecture series
- Photos of the Blake Center
- Photos of Hillsdale College
- High-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo
About the Blake Center for Faith and Freedom
Philanthropists Prestley and Helen Blake donated the buildings and acreage of their estate in Somers, Connecticut, to Hillsdale College in 2019. The Blake Center for Faith and Freedom is a religious institution that includes an exterior replica of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s renowned neo-classical home in Virginia. The College utilizes the property to host events that further its mission, focusing on the foundational principles of faith and freedom. To this end, most events held at the Blake Center have clear religious themes, focusing on topics relating to Christianity, man’s relationship to God, and faith generally. For more information, visit blakecenter.hillsdale.edu.
DATE: Aug. 12, 2026