The year of 1824 was an important one in the history of Lenawee County, and 2024 will be equally important as two local communities, Blissfield and Tecumseh, pay tribute to their roots with bicentennial celebrations.
Tecumseh
According to the “Illustrated History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Michigan,” published in 1903, Tecumseh was the first official settlement in Lenawee County. It was on June 26, 1824, when a group of settlers, led by Musgrove Evans, registered the village of Tecumseh at the Registrar’s Office in Monroe. Most of the settlers had come to southeast Michigan from Jefferson County, New York. Musgrove Evans is credited with platting the village and serving as its first postmaster.
Others instrumental in Tecumseh’s founding, and whose names can be found today on local roadways, included Joseph Brown, Ezra Blood and Turner Stetson.
Fast forward to 2024 and Tecumseh will celebrate its 200th anniversary from Thursday through Sunday, July 18 to 21.
Kelly Jo Gilmore, Tecumseh’s economic development director, said the four-day event will begin with the unveiling and dedication of a clock in Adams Park next to City Hall, a project undertaken by the Kiwanis Club of Tecumseh. The ceremony is being planned for Thursday evening in the park, and will include a performance by the River Raisin Ragtime Revue. Thursday night will also have Tecumseh’s monthly Classic Car and Bike Show, with hot rods and hot wheels on display in the parking lot at Old National Bank and the city’s northeast parking lot.
Other weekend attractions will be the city’s annual Summer Beach Party and sand sculpting event, with a historic theme prevailing among the sculptures displayed along Chicago Boulevard. Also being planned are a cornhole tournament, antique tractor show and summer block party. In keeping with the 200th anniversary theme, a vintage baseball game will be played, Promenade Tecumseh will host a historic homes tour, and there will be guided tours of historic sites in Brookside Cemetery. Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn some of the area’s history with exhibits at the Tecumseh Area Historical Museum and a Native American treaty display at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
Weekend entertainment includes a performance by the Dodworth Saxhorn Band and a historical version of the popular TCA Radio Show.
A bicentennial celebration just wouldn’t be complete without a parade or fireworks, so a birthday parade is being planned for Saturday morning, and fireworks are set for Saturday night at Tecumseh High School.
Information on how to sign up to enter the parade, become a festival sponsor or serve as a volunteer can be found on the city’s website at mytecumseh.org.
Blissfield
The village of Blissfield, known as the second settlement in Lenawee County, was founded by Hervey Bliss, who, in 1824, was living in Raisinville in Monroe County. He purchased some land on June 19, 1924, a 160-tract along the River Raisin, filled with swamps and dense forest. According to the “Illustrated History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County,” Bliss surmised that if the swampy land could grow trees it could also grow crops. So he worked to clear the land and build a cabin. Bliss moved his family to their new home on Dec. 24, 1824.
Blissfield’s 200th anniversary will be celebrated on Saturday and Sunday, July 27 and 28. Laura Nichols, Blissfield DDA/Main Street director, said the dates were selected in honor of Blissfield’s actual incorporation as a village on July 27, 1875. Organizers of the two-day event include Barbara Abenzeller, Eric and Deena Remley, along with the Blissfield Area Historical Society and other members of the Blissfield community.
In preparation for the celebration, local artist Barret Dvorsky, owner of Do Art Here in downtown Blissfield, was commissioned to paint a mural depicting the village’s 200-year history. The mural is 40 feet long by 16 feet tall and on display in the downtown area.
Blissfield’s annual River Raisin Festival will go on as usual, from July 11-13, with the bicentennial promoted by an entry in the festival parade. The Miss River Raisin Pageant will also feature a Miss Bliss pageant to select a queen to reign over the bicentennial. Miss Bliss will be open to women age 70 and over who were residents of Blissfield at the time of its sesquicentennial celebration in 1974.
History will be on full display at the two-day celebration, highlighted by the opening of a time capsule which was buried during the 150th birthday. Nichols said the capsule was recently dug up from its hiding place in Bachmayer Park and is now on display at Blissfield State Bank. It will be officially opened during the bicentennial festivities.
Other attractions during the two-day event will include Civil War re-enactments, open house events at the historic Victorsville Schoolhouse and the Blissfield Model Railroad Museum. A Keystone Kops force will keep “order” and be ready to take anyone accused of a minor offense to its “jail” at the Blissfield Railroad Depot. Also planned are bed races, old-fashioned games, cornhole and sand volleyball tournaments.
More information on the Blissfield Bicentennial can be found on Facebook.
