The first proclamation of the American Declaration of Independence took place on the Court House steps in the Circle in Easton at 12:O’Clock noon on July 8, 1776, simultaneously with similar proclamation at that appointed hour in Philadelphia and in Trenton, New Jersey. After adopting the Declaration in the late afternoon of July 4, Congress ordered copies to be printed and distributed to the several colonies for public readings. The readings in Easton, Philadelphia, and Trenton were the first to take place. The July 11, 1776 edition of the Pennsylvania Evening Post reported that the Colonel and all other field officers of the First Battalion repaired to the Courthouse, the Light Infantry Company marched there with drums beating, fifes playing, and the standard, bearing the device of the Thirteen United States Colonies, was displayed, and after the Declaration was read aloud to a great number of spectators, they gave their hearty assent with three loud huzzas and cried out, “may God long preserve and unite the free and independent States of America.” A revolutionary flag of stars and stripes preserved in the Easton Public Library is believed to be the oldest existing example of this original Easton flag; it was presented to the Easton Troops as they left for duty in the War of 1812. Northampton County’s Liberty Bell, which was rung along with the proclamation on July 8, 1776, is on display in the Northampton County Court House.