After the Revolution, friends and strangers would gather together in sweltering July weather in public parks and in neighbors' gardens & pleasure grounds to celebrate the new nation's independence.
In Maryland, Rosalie Stier Calvert wrote to her father of attending a 4th of July party of more than 100 people, held on the banks of the Potomac under a 70 foot long tent decorated with garlands of laurel. The table was "very well provisioned" for the garden feast.
Guests were asked to come in "American made clothes," and only wines and liquors made in Virginia were served -- apple & peach brandy and whiskey. "It was a completely patriotic fete."Fourth of July picnics and barbecues often were set up in near water or under the shade of a grove of trees to protect the celebrants from from the heat of the day.
The Reverand Mr. William Bentley, pastor of the East Church in Salem, Massachusettes, noted in his diary on July 4, 1792, The day of our INDEPENDANCE, to be celebrated in every part of the United States. Boston has given notice of its intentions, & the patriotic Sons of Gloucester have published the same purpose. For ourselves a few are to enjoy a Turtle feast at the Fort.
In the new Washington City in 1795, over 100 persons gathered to celebrate the Declaration of Independence near the tree-lined banks of the meandering Rock Creek with a dinner prepared by the owner of the Washington Tavern. (Columbian Chronicle, 7 July 1795)
In Frederick, Maryland, in 1805, the town's residents assembled for a 4th of July dinner at Mr. John Dare's spring, near the shady banks of the beautiful Monocacy River. (The Hornet, 9 July 1805)
And at St. Johns College in the old Maryland capitol of Annapolis in 1812, "a handsome dinner prepared by Mr. Isaac Parker, on the College Green, under the shade of that majestic Poplar" to celebrate the nation's independence. (Maryland Gazette, 9 July 1812)
Near Philadelphia on July 4, 1814, an organization called Tamanny Society's Wigwam met at Richmond, on the shady banks of the Delaware River and "sat down to two tables, of 160 feet each in length, well and plentifully supplied with the best products of the season." (Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, 6 July 1814)
John L. Krimmel (1785-1821), a German artist who came to the US in 1810 & settled in Philadelphia. 4th of July in Center Square, 1819. To celebrate the 4th of July in 1821, in Amherst, New Hampshire, the entire town decided to not have the traditional town ceremony but to gather together to go fishing in a nearby pond and then to cook up two large pots of fish chowder for all to enjoy. (Hillsboro Telegraph,6 July 1821)
At some outdoor public celebrations, commercial vendors set up booths & tables to provide refreshments for citizens, as they attended Fourth of July events. During the 1820 4th of July celebration in Washington D.C., turtle soup was offered at Lepreux & Kervand's "near the 7 buildings," from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., and at Burckhart & Koenig at the Columbia Garden beginning at 12 noon. Both vendors offered carry-out service. (National Intelligencer, 3-4 July 1820)
Clam soup was a New York City favorite. Actually, New Yorkers strolling through Central Park in 1824, could chose from more than soup. Vendor booths in shady Central Park offered "baked beans, roast pig and punch, custards and clam soup." (New York Daily Advertiser, 5 July 1824) Four years later, turtle soup had been added to the take-out menu on the Fouth of July in New York City. "Flushing Bay Clam and Turtle soup . . . [was] served up in the usual style, at the Flushing Hotel," while "green turtle soup" was available at the Washington Hall dinner in July of 1828. (New-York Enquirer, 4 July 1828, 2-3).
Another large outdoor dinner took place on the Washington Parade grounds in New York City in 1826 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Tables were arranged in lines 500 feet in length under a temporary covered arbor and "were tastefully decorated with flowers and evergreens." For this huge celebration, the butchers of Greenwich Market cooked & served "roasted oxen" The Governor of New York was served first. He took the first cut of an ox. A crowd of citizens & military then pressed forward, formed a line the whole length of the arbour, and commenced a spirited attack upon the eatables & drinkables, in the most gallant style of epicurean emulation. The attack continued with unabated ardour until the victory was complete, and the whole assailing force, satisfied with their share of booty when they retired in a peaceable and creditable manner at an early hour. (Richmond Enquirer, 14 July 1826)
The same newspaper reported that in nearby Petersburg, Virginia, 200 citizens gathered at Poplar Spring for dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fourth of July. (Richmond Enquirer, 11 July 1826)
Tickets were required for most 4th of July celebrations, but at the 1826 dinner 50th anniversary commemoration in Charlotte, North Carolina, soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War "were invited to partake 'without money, and without price." (Charleston Courier, 21 July 1826)
Outdoor public dinners often allowed for the presence of women, but females were typically not invited to organization celebrations. At such fetes, the food was usually prepared & served by men only. In 1802, a Mr. Kindig served a 4th of July dinner to men at Good Spring near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (10 July 1802) On Maryland's Eastern Shore, on July 4, 1816, "a meeting of gentlemen" was held on the property of Mr. Rue's tavern, where the gentlemen reportedly enjoyed a "sumptious dinner." (Republican Star, 9 July 1816) Several years later in New Haven, Connecticut, Col. George Ward provided the 1834 Fourth of July dinner for a large assemblage of "republican" men. (Columbian Register, 28 June 1834)
Although they would not be allowed to vote in the United States until 1920, the often excluded woman were not above taking matters in to their own hands on occasion. At Mossy Spring, Kentucky, in 1819, a group of determined pioneer women "seated themselves on the grass" and celebrated the holiday with food which each had brought from home. Copying the typical progression of the gentelmen's dinners, a patriotic oration was presented by one of the female diners followed by an offering of 13 "resolutions," not toasts, which the ladies feared might "be deemed unfeminine." (Commentator, Frankfort, Kentucky, 30 July 1819) To celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence at Northampton, Massachusettes, in 1824, the town's genteel ladies held a "Tea Party on the Green, presenting a brilliant and enchanting scene." (Boston Evening Gazette, 10 July 1824)Some of the large outdoor gentlemen's celebrations could last for hours, include numerous rounds of toasts, and become a little boisterous. The editors of the Rhode Island Providence Patriot & Columbian Phenix suggested on July 4, 1828, that public dinners "often" result in "excess, noise, riot and intemperance" and that dinners are not "calculated for social enjoyment." To solve the problem, the newspaper recommended that Independence Day dinners be "eaten at home with a few friends, without a drop of ardent spirits of any kind, but conclude with a temperate use of unadulterated wine."
For everything there is to know about 4th of July celebrations see the Fourth of July Celebrations Database, Researched, Compiled, & Arranged by James R. Heintze. American University, Washington, D.C.
.
