July 4, 1870

In 1870 at the first of an eventual twenty-five Fourth of July celebrations sponsored by Bowen in Woodstock, one of the Gothic chairs was brought outside to a tent on the town’s common, providing the seat of honor for President U. S. Grant. Connecticut Senator William Buckingham sat next to the President, in another Roseland Gothic chair. This illustration is from Harper’s Weekly, July 20, 1870. For more information on July Fourth celebrations see Village Virtues: Our Great Natal Day.