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2026 Edition ~ Richmond Loves a Parade
This July 4th, across the United States, communities large and small will celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In Richmond, Vermont, volunteers will read the Declaration of Independence and ring the bell in the Round Church belfry 250 times to honor the occasion. There will also be a 4th of July parade.
Like many towns in Vermont, Richmond has a rich history of community parades. Parades have commemorated our national and local heritage, honored patriots, celebrated peace, and delighted generations of children.
Richmond Underwear Company Float photo before 1924
1934 entrant in Richmond’s 4th of July Parade
Since at least the late 1880s, local businesses, youth organizations and neighborhood groups have built floats and decorated carriages or cars for the pageant. The Richmond Underwear Company was a regular participant in the early 20th century, with women and children modeling the latest undergarment styles on the company float. Parades may have halted during World War II, as gas rationing and other wartime austerities shut down unnecessary motor vehicle use. But if so, they resumed a few years after the war. One longtime resident remembers her 4H club decorating a car with pine boughs and homemade paper roses in the late 1940s. By the 1970s, Richmond’s 4th of July parade had become an annual tradition.
Onlookers eagerly await a summer parade along Bridge Street in the early 1900s
Richmond’s first fire engine - a 1932 Maxim - participates in the 2010 4th of July parade
Armistice Day Parade November 11, 1918
One of the town’s most moving parade occasions occurred on November 11, 1918. Early that morning, the Old Round Church bell rang out, signaling that World War I had ended. Workers from the Richmond Underwear Company and Borden’s Condensed Milk factory paraded through the town, along with school children, a marching band, and flag draped automobiles. “Oh boy, talk about parades!” recalled Charles Parent, who was eight years old at the time. The procession even came up to his village side street so that the band could perform for a neighbor woman with three sons in the military.
Veterans Day Parade in Richmond, Vermont November 6, 1999
This 4th of July, fire trucks will roll through Richmond, Vermont. Musicians will perform; children will wave from the parade floats; onlookers in red, white & blue will line the parade route. A whole community will celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday . . . and its own proud Independence Day tradition.
More Richmond VT History Resources