Outside City Hall on the morning of July 14, elected officials along with representatives from the Museum of Worcester took turns reading passages from the Declaration of Independence at the site where printer and patriot Isaiah Thomas publicly proclaimed the document 250 years earlier.
But the marker commemorating Worcester’s place in that history was so difficult to locate that Councilor Morris Bergman said he had to help others find it beneath their feet.
For Bergman, the nearly hidden plaque has become a symbol of a larger problem: a city with history rivaling Boston’s, but far less willingness to put that history on display.
“We continue not to celebrate it,” Bergman said during last week’s City Council meeting. “It should be something we have to avoid seeing instead of having to find.”
Bergman is again asking City Manager Eric Batista to identify potential funding for a statue or monument depicting Thomas’ historic reading of the Declaration. He wants it placed prominently outside City Hall as a permanent gift to residents during the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The request follows an order the council adopted Feb. 3 and revives an idea Bergman said he first introduced several years ago.
Bergman said the city’s recent ceremonial reading of the Declaration inspired both pride and embarrassment. Worcester was among the earliest places where the document was read publicly, he said, yet the event is commemorated by a ground-level plaque that is easy to overlook and potentially obscured by snow or ice.
“You literally have to kind of walk on it or trip over it, so to speak, to find it,” Bergman said.
His frustration extends beyond the plaque. Bergman contrasted Worcester’s approach with Boston, where civic leaders frequently promote the city’s role in the nation’s founding and compete to preserve, mark and publicize historic sites.
“Toe to toe, Worcester history is as significant as Boston, whether we’re talking about the American Revolution, Civil War, so on and so forth,” Bergman said.
Boston, he said, seizes opportunities to celebrate its past, while Worcester has too often treated its own history with indifference.
The proposed monument could give Worcester residents, visitors and the thousands of college students living in the city a more visible connection to that history, Bergman said. It could also become the centerpiece of an annual public reading of the Declaration.
Bergman urged the administration to have at least a plan in place by the end of 2026, allowing the city to begin a new annual tradition the following year.
“We’ve got to find a way to do better celebrating our history instead of kind of being, you know, nonchalant about it,” he said. “And this, to me, is a great way to start.”
No cost estimate or funding source has been identified. Bergman suggested the city could seek support from nonprofit organizations, financial institutions or local businesses interested in helping commemorate Worcester history.
It is currently displayed next to the city’s official copy of the Declaration that was entered into the town records on July 17, 1776 (photo credit: City of Worcester)
“Whatever the cost is can be absorbed by some of our nonprofits or some of our financial business owners that are in the city that also take pride in locating their businesses here,” he said.
Councilor Kathleen Toomey asked to sign on to Bergman’s order.
Council Vice Chairman Khrystian King also supported the proposal but raised a related concern about how Worcester maintains its existing memorials and historic plaques.
King cited a plaque associated with Bob Cousy Court that he previously asked the city to restore, saying that request remains outstanding. He asked whether the city has a formal process for inspecting and refurbishing monuments on public property.
Batista said the Parks Department maintains a schedule for that work, although projects depend on the funding available in a given year. He cited the city’s restoration of its Civil War memorial as an example of a larger refurbishment completed in recent years.
King asked the administration to consider restoring the existing Isaiah Thomas plaque while the proposed monument is being planned.
“This is something that’s right here in our backyard — or front yard,” King said, adding that the city should ensure it is “paying proper homage” to the people and events commemorated on municipal property.
The council sent Bergman’s request and King’s proposed addition to the city manager.
Have a story tip, community concern, or insight to share? Email Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org.
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