Monday, Sept. 17 begins the national celebration of Constitution Week. The weeklong commemoration of America’s most important document is one of the nation’s least known official observances.

Wood County commissioners recently approved a proclamation declaring the week.

Communities will be celebrating the spirit and meaning of the Constitution. On Sept. 17, 1787 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution of the United States of America. Nearly 170 years later, in 1955, the Daughters of the American Revolution spearheaded an effort to set aside one week annually when Americans could celebrate this iconic signing. After petitioning Congress to set aside the week of Sept. 17-23, on Aug. 2, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Constitution Week into law. 

Local chapters of the National Society DAR celebrate with many events to honor this founding document. Celebrations begin with Bells Across America, on Sept. 17, when bells across the country are rung simultaneously at 4 p.m. EDT.