May is Historic Preservation Month in Marshfield
[This article has been updated to reflect 2018 event dates. See below for a schedule of events for the month of May!]
4/29/17 – For many years, the month of May has been designated as Historic Preservation Month. Started by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservation Month is the perfect time to participate in This Place Matters, a national campaign that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities, and to share it with the world. In Marshfield, the month involves assorted history and genealogy groups joining forces for various events throughout the month.
“It’s a time for communities to promote their history,” said Don Schnitzler, Marshfield historian and Coordinator of the Marshfield History Project. “We’ve been doing this since the 1990’s and it’s a time when all of the groups come together and work together. There’s no official organization, but rather a mutual partnership that makes this happen.”
Marshfield Historic Preservation Month events are coordinated by the City of Marshfield Historic Preservation Committee, Main Street Marshfield, the Marshfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Marshfield Area Genealogy Group, the Marshfield Historic Preservation Association, the Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library, the North Wood County Historical Society, Chestnut Avenue Center for the Arts, and the Laird Foundation For Historic Preservation.
See more photos of Hub City in Times.
The month kicks off with a Mayoral proclamation, and then throughout the month are various lectures, workshops, and activities involving history. As part of their curriculum, third graders in the Marshfield School District study local history. For many years, historic downtown tours were part of that study. Other events for all ages stemmed from that tradition.
“There are different events to showcase historical significance,” said Schnitzler. “There are so many great stories here. We’d love to have people attend the events.”
Perhaps the most significant turning point in Marshfield’s history occurred in 1887, when a large portion of the town burned to the ground. Schnitzler credits this as just one example of Marshfield’s historic ability to overcome the odds.
“Marshfield persevered. When the fire came, for example, it could have gone away but the people in town pulled together to say ‘We’re staying here’,” said Schnitzler. “The Upham family was very important in that decision. And it’s not just the Upham-there were so many people that were involved with so many things. There are some good stories out there about good people and good things happening in town that deserve being remembered.”
Anyone with questions about local history or genealogy is encouraged to attend any of the events. Past events have included the dedication of the Flying Trees exhibit at the airport, and the opening of the Lest We Forget Exhibit.
“There have been a lot of significant contributions by people in the past that deserve merit and recognition,” said Schnitzler. “And you really can’t appreciate where you are if you don’t know where you came from.”
Though Historic Preservation Month ends when the calendar turns to June, Marshfield will continue to celebrate its history with the Historic Street Banquet picnic on July 27, 2018 just as it did in 2017. It will be the 101st anniversary of the 1917 street banquet held for Company “A,” Second Regiment, Wisconsin National GuardThis July marks the 101st Anniversary of the Street Banquet that was held for newly-active Company “A”, Second Regiment, Wisconsin National Guard. Read more here.
