BOISE, Idaho — On this President's Day the Idaho State Museum just opened a brand-new exhibit to help celebrate this country's 250th birthday coming up in July with the help of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.
Janet Gilmore is the Executive Director of the Idaho State Historical Society and can't wait for July 4, 2026.
"We're 137 days away from that amazing celebration and commemorative moment," Gilmore told Idaho News 6 Senior Reporter Don Nelson.
To honor the milestone, Gilmore and his team at the Idaho State Museum are proud to unveil a new exhibit called Fore Score and Seven Years Before, which highlights the contributions of our forefathers in stunning detail.
WATCH | The Idaho State Museum reveals a special exhibit for the nation's 250th birthday—
Officially called the Semiquincentennial— July 4, 2026, will be a historic day of celebration in our nation's 250-year history.
Nicole Inghilpera is a museum curator who encourages everyone to come and visit the new temporary exhibit.
"So, this is our way of bringing that story to Idaho and kind of carrying through the ideals of the Revolution from 1776 through our founding as a state in 1890," explained Inghilpera.
Visitors will see a powder horn from a captain who served under General Washington, drafts of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, and Abraham Lincoln's watershed speech— The Gettysburg Address.
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"Idaho, more than any other state, is related to Abe Lincoln— with apologies to Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois," said former Idaho Attorney General and Lincoln historian, David Leroy.
Leroy played a major role in the temporary exhibit by lending many documents and artifacts from his own personal collection. His knowledge of Lincoln is second to none.
"In 1849, [Lincoln] was offered, as a retiring Congressman, the Governorship of Oregon Territory, which at that time included the land mass of Idaho, and had he come out here to be our Governor— no doubt he would have been removed from the likelihood of becoming President."
Executive Director of the Idaho State Historical Society Janet Gallimore wants visitors to look, learn, and ask questions.
"How did Idaho cascade out of [the] original founding values?" asked Gallimore. "We all still stand on the shoulders that came before us."
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