Rolla’s Sesquicentennial

Celebration set for

June 4, 2011

 

 By Scott A. Grahl, Chairman, Rolla Sesquicentennial Committee

 The City of Rolla, which was incorporated in 1861, will be celebrating its Sesquicentennial (150th Birthday) on Saturday, June 4, 2011 in conjunction with Route 66 Summerfest in downtown Rolla, Missouri.

 The day-long celebration kicks off with a Sesquicentennial Parade at 10 a.m. on Pine Street in downtown Rolla where 15 decades will be represented by various community and civic organizations. The parade will be an opportunity to see 150 years of Rolla history pass by from 6th street to 11th street along Pine Street, which continues to be a center of historic significance with its U.S. Route 66 roots, and the old-world Edwin Long Hotel (now Phelps County Bank). The landmark building where numerous celebrities and dignitaries have visited is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

 Following the parade, the Sesquicentennial Program begins at 11:30 a.m. at the downtown bandshell. Several City, County and State officials, as well as long-time Rolla residents and historians will part of the ceremony, which will include a tribute to Rolla’s rich heritage and history. Later that afternoon at 2 p.m. Sesquicentennial festivities will continue with historical re-enactments, a living history demonstration and lots of historic exhibits, crafters, displays and tours of the pre-Civil War old Phelps County Courthouse, and the 1857 John A. Dillon Log Cabin, (the first Phelps County Courthouse, which serves now as the Phelps County Historical Museum).  

 Also included in the celebration throughout the day will be A “Walk through History” in and around Rolla City Hall (located at 9th and Elm Street), and the downtown area. This unique aspect of the celebration will include vintage photographs of Rolla and Phelps County, oral and written histories, and guided walking tours of the Historic Walking Tour of Rolla (including 37 historic signs and locations within a 2 ½ mile area).

 The entire community, State and Midwest region is invited to participate in and help celebrate Rolla’s Sesquicentennial and milestone event on June 4, 2011.

 For more information, please contact Scott Grahl, Chairman of Rolla’s Sesquicentennial Committee, and the City of Rolla’s Communications Officer, at 573-426-6943 or at sgrahl@rollacity.org. More information is also available on the City of Rolla Website at www.rollacity.org.

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