The Henry County Historic Preservation Commission met Wednesday September 18 at the Henry County Heritage Center. Attending were Commissioners Caroline Lehman, Cathie Schreiner, Mary Savage, Judy Rawson, Larry D. Roth, Pat White, and Joel Garretson. The agenda and last meeting minutes were approved as well as the treasurer’s report. A new schedule for the Historic Highlights newspaper column and updated museum brochures were distributed among the Commissioners. Enhancing tourism among the small museums in the county has been a recent topic for discussion and it was discussed that producing a historic tourism guide book featuring the location of all the county’s historic landmarks and features might be the best option. The spiral bound guide book could include maps showing the locations of sites placed on the National Register of Historic Places, country schools, abandoned towns and railroads, pioneer cemeteries, mills, dams, and other historically significant sites indexed and organized by townships and cities. There are two interesting programs coming up, starting with Pioneer Cemetery Day highlighting Jefferson Township cemeteries at the Henry County Heritage Center on Saturday September 21 at 2:00 p.m, and a presentation at the Dover Museum in New London on September 22 at 1:30 p.m. by Virginia Ekstrand, “My Life and the 1964 Earthquake in Alaska”.
The next meeting will be October 16 at the Henry County Heritage Center.