Hallowell to display rare copy of Declaration of Independence

HALLOWELL (AP) — A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence will be on display at an Augusta suburb’s Fourth of July celebration this year.

The Portland Press Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1DwoBg6 ) Hallowell City Council approved the exhibition of the document for the first time in more than two decades.

Hallowell’s draft was one of 250 copies ordered in 1776 by the state council of Massachusetts, which included present-day Maine, from a printer in Salem, Mass. State archivist David Cheever says at least 11 copies are believed to still exist, three of which are in Maine.

Because Hallowell’s copy is estimated to be worth at least $1 million, it will be encased in glass when on display at city hall.