July 15, 1776

On July 9, the Declaration of Independence was celebrated at the College of New Jersey, which became Princeton University. Nassau Hall, which still stands as the oldest building on campus, was “grandly illuminated,” and the Declaration was “proclaimed under a triple volley of musketry and universal acclamation for the prosperity of the UNITED STATES.” Nassau Hall later became the meeting place of the Congress for a few months in 1783. There, they received the news of the Treaty of Paris, which brought a formal end to the war.

Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser
Printed by John Dunlap

Extract of a letter from Princeton, dated the 10th inst.

“Last night Nassau-Hall was grandly illuminated, and INDEPENDANCY proclaimed under a triple volley of musketry, and universal acclamation for the prosperity of the UNITED STATES. The ceremony was conducted with the greatest decorum.”