A key to the village of Mount Gilead will be presented to students who win the Mount Gilead schools’ coloring and essay contests. Descendants of Jacob Young, founder of the village, who attend the event, will also receive a key.
Courtesy | Village of Mount Gilead
Mount Gilead Mayor Donna Carver recently announced plans for Founders Day, which will take place from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, on the square and in downtown Mount Gilead.
The afternoon will kick off with a parade, which will form at the Morrow County Fairgrounds at 12:30 p.m. and travel through town, ending at Cherry Street School.
There will be a ceremony at 2 p.m. by the History Center commemorating the founding of the village 200 years ago in 1824. Carver said there will be several state officials and dignitaries present to hear the story of the founding of the village. Two descendants of Jacob Young, the village’s founder, will be presented with keys to the village. Ann Artrip, of the Morrow County Genealogical Society, will speak about her experience tracing these out-of-town descendants of the founder.
Stores will have sales and be open throughout the afternoon, and the band Steamtown Road will entertain until 4 p.m.
Carver will be passing out commemorative wooden nickels to the first 200 who come to the Founders Day event. She ordered additional wooden nickels for Mount Gilead students who participate in the coloring contest for elementary students and essay contest for older students. Winners in each category will receive a golden key to the village.
According to history records, on Sept. 30, 1824, Jacob Young planned and plotted the first 80 lots around the area that is called the south square (Main and Marion streets). The village was still called Whetstone and was part of Marion County. In 1832, the name was changed to Mount Gilead and incorporated by the state in 1839. Mount Gilead became the county seat in 1848 when the county was formed.
