MILTON — A lecture series will begin and lead up to a week-long celebration of Milton’s Bicentennial. Organizer John Meckley of the Bicentennial Committee will give the first lecture on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Milton Area High School Library.
Meckley said, “All of our lectures are going to be focused on Milton history. The first one appropriately enough is going to be talking about how Milton was founded. Our founders name was Andrew Straub. I’m going to give this particular lecture in my capacity as the president of the Milton Historical Society. I will talk about how Milton was founded by Mr. Straub but we are going to use as a prop, the actual Milton deed that was written in 1790.”
The borough was then incorporated in 1817, “You may learn some things you didn’t know about how Milton was founded. The land for Milton was actually purchased at a sheriff’s sale. It was 200 acres for I think about 100 pounds, so it was on the cheap. So, we have a lot of background about how that happened.”
There will then be a lecture held each month through June, “The next lecture in February is going to focus on ‘Fires, Floods and New Beginnings.’ It’s talking about the struggles that Milton might have had over the years and how we’ve always rebounded. It’s going to focus alot on the great fire of 1880. Most of the town was burned to the ground by a terrible accident that started at The American Car and Foundry, which is ACF. In it’s day, it was actually the largest national response to an emergency.”
You can find details about all of the lectures on their website at www.milton2017.com. Aside from the lecture series, numerous other events are planned, including a Bicentennial Banquet and Celebration Week, which will include a parade, fireworks and a gala concert. (Ali Stevens)
