(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Though 2024 is only one month in, plans are already underway for America’s celebration of its 250th anniversary in 2026.

America250 is a national group that is spearheading celebration plans, and Beaver County Parks & Recreation director Tony Caltury—who is Beaver County’s chairman for America250–spoke about plans at Wednesday’s work session.

Caltury stated that meetings were set to take place on Wednesday to set plans in motion for regional- and state-level committees to gather together. “We are going to be doing an internal Beaver County committee of 12 to 15 people across sectors, so we can start planning for events in 2026,” he said.

Caltury also told the Commissioners that there are several projects for 2026 that can be funded through grant money provided by the state of Pennsylvania. He mentioned that the Little Beaver Historical Society is planning an expansion of Logstown and that the Beaver County Industrial Museum is also planning expansion.

Solicitor Garen Fedeles noted that–similar to the grants for ARPA–that any “mini-grants” for America250 celebrations and renovations would have to show finalized plans before the end of 2024; otherwise the money would have to be returned to the government.