Following the state’s bicentennial milestone in 2016, county officials and agency leaders decided to collaborate on a year-long plan to celebrate Montgomery County’s 200th birthday.
Indiana was officially formed as the 19th state of the Union on Dec. 11, 1816, with Montgomery following six years later on Dec. 21, 1822.
But with December still in the distance, the county has partnered with several already-planned events to take the celebration to the people throughout the year, including the Strawberry Festival and the Sugar Creek Canoe Race.
Some of the year’s earliest celebrations have passed, but the bulk are yet to come, Administrator Tom Klein said.
“People are like, ‘so what’s your big event?’ We kind of didn’t want to have our own event,” he said. “Instead, we’ve been trying to partner with other organizations and trying to get existing groups to utilize our logo.”
For the month of March, Klein said basketball fans can visit the Montgomery County Heritage Basketball Initiative historical exhibit on the second floor of the Fusion 54 building, located at 101 W. Main St., to have their pictures taken in a selfie booth with downtown Crawfordsville as the backdrop.
The selfie booth is just one way of connecting March Madness with its origins at 103 W. Main St. — otherwise known as the Cradle of Basketball.
“People are encouraged to go over to Fusion and get their pictures taken,” Klein said, noting another March effort. “But the first big thing is that the Carnegie Library is doing an exhibit in March celebrating 200 years in education in Montgomery County.”
Klein also recently bestowed commemorative coins for members of the county council and various town boards in the area. The coins were specially made with the bicentennial logo as their theme.
Others behind the drive to commemorate the bicentennial included Dan Taylor, Jennifer Andel, Sue Lucas, Don Mills, Jill Coats-Matthews, Sarah Storms, Casey Hockersmith, Heather Shirk, Diana McCormick, Diane Moore and Karen Zach. The committee represents several agencies in the county, including MainStreet, the Lane Place, the Montgomery County Community Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Visitors’ Bureau and Athens Art Gallery.
“We brainstormed on a lot of different ideas for different ways to celebrate,” Klein said. “We meet monthly, so we’re still coming up with ideas.”
A series of articles written by former county historian Karen Zach are also making their way through the county, covering everything from county “firsts” to the area’s history with the Underground Railroad, which brings up an interesting note for the bicentennial, Klein said.
“The other thing that we’re trying to emphasize is that everything isn’t supposed to be about 200 years ago. We’re supposed to be celebrating all 200 years,” he said. “So we can celebrate something from five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago ... it doesn’t have to be everything 1822.”
One of the latest ideas by way of celebration is in the form of a Bicentennial Tree. The county plans to plant such a tree on courthouse grounds, and residents can plant their own bicentennial trees to receive a historic designation.
“If they do, then they can let us know and we’ll send them a certificate they are a Bicentennial Tree member.”
For more information about upcoming events, visit www.montgomerycounty.in.gov, or check out the county’s Facebook page for updates.
