Bicentennial celebration of Hancock County scheduled for Monday

CARTHAGE, Ill. — A ceremony will be held Monday, Jan. 13, on the lawn of the Hancock County Courthouse — exactly 200 years after its original designation as a county — as part of the bicentennial celebration of Hancock County.

Following is the schedule for the celebration:

• Welcome — Bob Steinman
• Prayer — Clark Irwin
• Raising of the flag on the Hancock County courthouse lawn by Dan Moffitt representing the Moffit family, the only registered bicentennial farm in Hancock county and one of only 17 in the state of Illinois.
• National Anthem — Carol Brower and Janet Carlisle, daughters of the late Jerry and Mary (Walker) Grauf
• Closing remarks — Sheriff Travis Duffy

The schedule for the proclamation ceremony being held in the main courtroom beginning at 1 p.m. will be:

• Welcome —  Bob Steinman
• Prayer — Holly A. Wilde-Tillman-County Clerk and Recorder
• Proclamation — Mark Menn, Chairman
• Early History of Hancock County — Joy Swearingen-retired editor of the Hancock County Journal Pilot
• History of the county — Stephen G. Evans-retired judge of the Ninth Judicial District
• Proclamation of bicentennial events — Bob Steinman
• Closing Remarks — Holly A. Wilde-Tillman-County Clerk and Recorder

The ceremony to lower and fold the flag by Cub Scout Pack 39 and Boy Scout Troop 72 will begin at 3:45 p.m. The day will end with the presentation of the flag to the county.

Courthouse tours will be conducted throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guides will be available on each of the three levels to provide historic information.

Illinois was a part of the Northwest Territory and was ceded to the United States on March 1, 1784. When Pike County was organized in 1821, this new county included Hancock County territory, and this condition continued until 1825. The county was named by an act of the Illinois General Assembly on Jan. 13, 1825. The county was named for John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence and a prominent figure of the American Revolution.