Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Events topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local historian outlines yearlong Centerville 2026 program of reenactments, exhibits and community events
Summary
Longtime local historian Mary Margaret Goodwin presented a month‑by‑month plan to commemorate Centerville’s history in 2026, proposing reenactments, exhibits, children’s activities and a letter‑writing project tied to school curriculum and local businesses.
At the March 20 council meeting community historian Mary Margaret Goodwin outlined a detailed, month‑by‑month program of events proposed for 2026 to highlight Centerville’s local history. Her plan includes reenactments, a cemetery outdoor museum, business‑history displays, school curriculum integration, and an expanded Fourth‑of‑July commemoration.
Goodwin told the council she has spent decades documenting local history and presented examples she plans to include: a February reenactment of Chester Mill to the wharf using period wagons and livestock; a pair of cemetery outdoor‑museum days with grave placards identifying early founders; an agricultural month focused on historic tools and local production; a June businesses month with storefront displays; and a July 4 commemoration that would recreate an 1876 celebration. She also proposed a November civic‑engagement project in which families and schoolchildren write short letters about what they appreciate about living in Centerville; Goodwin said she aims to collect those letters into a book.
Goodwin emphasized inclusion of local women’s history (noting Mary Nicholson and other early landowners) and civil‑war‑era and Revolutionary‑era stories tied to local families and mills. She said the program would draw on existing volunteer groups (including the cemetery committee) and on partnerships with local media, Main Street and the school system. Goodwin told council she will coordinate drone photography of key historic sites and submit materials for grant support for the project.
Council members thanked Goodwin for the proposal and asked that staff coordinate logistics and any town support necessary for event permitting and publicity. Goodwin said she would follow up on workhouse and cemetery coordination with staff.
Ending: The council received the presentation as a public submission and directed staff to work with Goodwin on logistics, event timing and any requests for town resources or permits.
