July 4, 1887 celebration featuring Wellington’s oldest female residents: Mrs. Ruel Lang, Mrs. Isaac Bennett, Mrs. Edward Tripp and Mrs. Chauncey Warner. Photo 970193 of “Wellington Family Album” Collection, Herrick Memorial Library. Permission to display generously granted by the library.
It recently struck me that next year, 2017, will be the one-hundredth anniversary of the construction of our house. The little brick bungalow was a work-in-progress for many months, but the newspaper notice announcing that Fergus and Julia Camp had finally been able to take residence was printed in The Wellington Enterprise in February 1917.
That got me thinking about all the other significant anniversaries in the history of the village that will be happening in the very near future. I began to sketch out a list and was a bit stunned by how many I was able to compile. I am sharing this to enable you all to get your party hats and favors stockpiled early!
2017
- 150th Anniversary of the First Printing of The Wellington Enterprise: September 19, 1867 was the first issue ever released of our hometown newspaper. I have written about the history of the Enterprise here, here and here.
- 150th Anniversary of the Construction of the Wellington Methodist Church and the Union School (Dec): In the fall and winter of 1867, the Lorain County News was filled with updates on the progress in construction of both the “new” Methodist Church and the state-of-the-art Union School. Sadly, the school missed its sesquicentennial by months; it was demolished April 5, 2016.
2018
- 100th Anniversary of Archibald Willard’s Death: The painter–whose most famous work was inspired by events he witnessed in Wellington–passed away on October 11, 1918, exactly one month before Armistice Day ended World War I.
- 150th Anniversary of Frederick Douglass’ Visit to Wellington: On March 29, 1868, one of the most famous orators and social reformers of the century visited at the invitation of the Wellington Reading Room Association. The Lorain County News reported that his lecture was “well attended” and spoken of with “the highest praise.” (To see a list of other famous folks who passed through the village in the 19th-century, click here.)
- 200th Anniversary of Wellington’s Settling By Those of European Descent: And the biggest celebration of all…the bicentennial of Wellington’s settling in 1818.
I have added a condensed version of this list to the blog sidebar for easy reference. If any commemorative events are planned in Wellington over the coming months, I will report on them here for the benefit of out-of-town readers.
19th-Century Wellington 