Across Massachusetts 351 cities and towns, authentically handmade copies of the Declaration of Independence will be distributed to modern day residents this summer — recreating the announcement nearly 250 years ago when over 300 copies informed the state of the founders’ intent.

“This is one of the defining moments in Massachusetts history,” said Jonathan Lane, executive director of Revolution 250. “In July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was printed and distributed throughout the Commonwealth to churches in towns large and small, regardless of denomination. As ministers read the Declaration aloud to their congregations, hundreds of thousands of people heard, often for the first time, the words that would forever change the course of history.”

The “Declaration Delivery Day” initiative, organized by Revolution 250, will oversee the hand-making of hundreds of copies of the Declaration of Independence and delivery to each city and town in the state before July 4.

The first reproductions were completed on Friday to kick off the project, Revolution 250 announced.

The initiative aims to bring light to a “lesser-known chapter of Revolutionary history:” the weeks after July 4, 1776, when the residents of Massachusetts heard the words for the first time from their parish ministers and recorded them into official town records.

“Imagine nearly 250,000 people gathered in meetinghouses and churches across Massachusetts, listening as the Declaration proclaimed that ‘all men are created equal’ and ‘endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,’” said Lane. “For many, it was the moment when the Revolution ceased to be a political debate and became a shared public commitment to independence.”

Dozens of the original documents distributed remain preserved today, Revolution 250 said.

The historian and printer Gary Gregory facilitated the printing of the historical document at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill using “18th-century techniques, recreating a labor-intensive process similar to that used in 1776,” the organization said.

A $15 million lottery ticket was purchased at a local market in the town of Millis. The winning ticket came from the Massachusetts State Lottery’s Diamond Deluxe scratch-off game. To win, players must match any of their numbers to one of the winning numbers. The odds of winning the top $15 million prize are reportedly more than 1 in 5 million. Retailers that sell winning tickets typically receive a bonus from the Lottery.

2 Salem Beaches Still Closed, 7 Reopen Across MA After Hot Weekend

Most of the beaches that close across Massachusetts each summer do so because of high bacteria levels caused by storm runoff and other means of fecal contamination. Water quality at public beaches in Massachusetts is required to be monitored by local public health departments. When the water quality is unsafe, the beach must be “posted” with a sign indicating that swimming is unsafe and may cause illness. The bacteria used as indicator organisms to test the waters at beaches are Enterococci and E. coli.

People were taken into custody after a police chase in Middleborough on Sunday morning, Massachusetts State Police said.

Middleborough police had reported the pursuit about 10 a.m. and ultimately took the people in the vehicle into custody roughly 12 minutes later, according to state police.

A state police trooper placed a tracker on the vehicle while it was heading east on Route 44, the agency said, and it later stopped on Route 105.

State police referred questions about further information to Middleborough police, which NBC10 Boston has reached out to.