As you head out to all of the exciting Fourth of July events that Lexington has to offer, we wanted to leave you with a fun bit of history about our city.

Today is the day that the United States celebrates its independence + commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by Congress on July 4, 1776. Let’s have a little history lesson, shall we?

In order to gain full independence, citizens of the original 13 colonies fought in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain between 1775-1783.

One of the first battles of the American Revolution was the Battle of Lexington — Lexington, Massachusetts that is, and it took place on April 19, 1775. This is where the first shot for the American Revolution was fired. Today, we know this as the shot heard around the world.

That shot was also heard in our little neck of the woods.

During that time, William McConnell, his brother Francis + five other men had established a base camp at the north branch of the Elkhorn Creek and were making plans to settle the area.

William laid claim to a 400-acre tract of land near an interesting collection of “sinking springs.” This piece of land is the public park + natural area we now call McConnell Springs.

That summer, William and a small group were camped out around the springs, envisioning the future growth of the area. One question tossed around was what name would be given to this new settlement.

That’s when word reached their camp from Fort Harrod that a skirmish had broken out between British soldiers and American minutemen in Lexington, MA. The group of pioneers then decided to name their newly proposed settlement Lexington.

The rest, as they say, is history.