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).
County Commissioner Larry Stratman, Chairman of the Phelps County Sesquicentennial Celebration (held in June 2007), together with Aimee Campbell, Tourism Director with the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce, are coordinating and organizing the logistical aspects of the Sesquicentennial Parade, and would like anyone interested in being part of the parade (floats, bands, vintage cars, vintage tractors, soldiers, cavalry, cowboys, covered wagons, etc.) to contact Aimee at the Visitor's Center at (573) 364-3577 or at aimee@rollachamber.org.
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.
The following individuals are serving on the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee and meeting on a regular basis to plan, promote and organize Rolla’s Sesquicentennial Celebration: Larry Stratman, Phelps County Commissioner, and former Chairman of the Phelps County Sesquicentennial Planning Committee; Dr. Wayne Bledsoe, former Chairman of the Missouri S&T History Department and General Manager of KMST radio station (located on the Missouri S&T campus); Jaime Rinehart, Rolla Junior High School History teacher; Mark Stauter, member of the Phelps County Historical Society; Carolyn Tilford, President of the Phelps County Historical Society; Dan Henke, Phelps County Historical Society member and historical re-enactor; Dianne Henke, Curator of the Phelps County Historical Museum; Judy Jepsen, former Rolla City Council member and past president of the Ozark Actors Theater Board of Directors; John Petersen, the City’s Director of Community Development and Living History organizer; Aimee Campbell, Tourism Director, Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce. Ex-officio members of the committee include John Butz, Rolla City Administrator; Steve Hargis, the City’s Director of Public Works and Scott Grahl, Communications Coordinator, and Chairman of the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee.
