“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

These famous words of the United States Declaration of Independence, penned on a goatskin with ink and a quill in 1776, have since faded on their original medium.

Currently, those words and all others of the Declaration of Independence are sitting in the Forsyth County Administration Building on a piece of art made from metal, preserved forever. Forsyth County residents are welcome to view the artwork on the first floor of the building through the end of July.  

In the 80s and 90s, poet and artist Sri Krishna Swamy, who traveled many times to visit his sons in the United States from India, enjoyed visiting Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, and learning all about American history. When he visited the National Archives Museum in Washington D.C. and witnessed the illegibility of the original Declaration of Independence, he sought to rectify the situation by creating a more permanent version of the document.

During that same trip and after going to the museum, Narayan Swamy, Sri Krishna’s son, said they visited the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. There, Sri Krishna grew inspired by the sculpture and developed the idea to turn the Declaration of Independence into a metal engraving, so it could last lifetimes.

“That way, the younger generation can look at it down the road,” Narayan said. “They will know how the whole thing was written.” 

Back in India, Sri Krishna got to work designing and framing the pieces of brass that would later become a piece of metallic art that includes the Declaration of Independence, the first page of the United States Constitution, and a depiction of the Founding Fathers signing the document and the quill they used. Narayan said it took four or five men four years to complete the entire engraving, working from the years 2000-2004. 

Twenty years later, the piece of art is sitting in the Forsyth County Administration Building, where it can be viewed and admired by residents.

“My father’s vision was that this artwork has to be kept in a place where the younger generation, the youth, the local people can see and know the struggles and what happened during 1776 and before,” Narayan said.

Narayan said his own children have learned more about American history and are “amazed that their own grandfather” created something so special.

As a current resident of Forsyth County, Narayan said it is very rewarding to see his community enjoy and learn from something his father created – something very precious to him.

He hopes others will enjoy his father’s artwork and learn more about the history of America while the piece is installed in the Forsyth County Administration Building.

The Forsyth County Administration Building is located at 110 East Main Street in Cumming.