Residents of past and present gathered over the weekend to celebrate 200 years of memories and community for Johnson County’s oldest town.
Edinburgh, situated at the southern tip of the county, was the first settlement in Johnson County two centuries ago in March of 1822.
This celebration was momentous for the small town, which has a rich history. Years of planning, researching the town history and gathering memories from the locals led up to one big “birthday bash” on Keeley Street and the historic School Hill Friday and Saturday.
Live music filled the air and local vendors selling items and food lined the street and local popcorn shop Not Just Popcorn set up shop to sell its famed popcorn flavors to attendees. Different activities went on throughout the days — from a petting zoo to a lumberjack show.
The premise of the event was a family reunion for the town, so at the heart of the festival was its residents. New, current and former residents all came out to celebrate the close-knit town.
Ron and Pam Streeval grew up in Edinburgh, and raised their children in town. They had lived there for more than 60 years before moving to Noblesville three years ago to join their daughters and grandchildren.
Their hometown still holds a special place in their heart, they said. Donning matching “Edinburgh 1822” t-shirts they bought at the community center, Ron and Pam Streeval strolled down Keeley Street Saturday, getting stopped often by old friends looking to catch up while they were in town.
Many of their favorite memories stem from the close-knit community, they said. The people in town would “give you the shirts of their backs” if you needed it, Ron Streeval said.
“There’s just so many connections, so many people. We ran into probably a dozen people since we just parked in the parking lot,” Ron Streeval said.
Looking back at some of his favorite memories as a kids, Ron Streeval loved going to the local pool, attending baseball games and riding his bike down the steep School Hill — a tradition he said was deemed a “passage of manhood” by the boys in town.
“I hear certain songs on the radio, and it takes me back to the pool when they used to play it on the PA, you know, and ballgames here just, you know, small town stuff,” Ron Streeval said. “It’s pretty rich here.”
Freddie Smith has lived in Edinburgh his entire life. He remembers attending school at the old three-story schoolhouse that built in the 1800s and torn down in the 1970s. It sat atop what is now called School Hill, where the Edinburgh water tower sits today. He watched the current Edinburgh High School be built across the street from the window of his math class, he said.
Smith also played baseball as a kid in the 1960s. He was a member of a small team, where the head coach was the chief of police at the time.
“The community, it’s small? A lot of family, friends, a lot of guys I grew up with, the alumni are still around,” Smith said.
Larry Link is another resident who moved away but came back to celebrate. Link worked at the Webb Veneer Mill in Edinburgh for five years in the 1970s and 1980s, he said, and that was one of his favorite memories living in town.
Edinburgh’s veneer industry, which still thrives, employing many in the town, is a significant part of its history. Veneer is thin pieces of high-quality wood attached to doors, furniture, flooring and other wooden products.
Link also enjoyed watching his daughters grow up in the small town.
“It’s just a great town,” Link said.
Not everyone at the bash was local, however. Neal Dean and his wife were visiting from Napoleon, Indiana, which is about an hour away from Edinburgh. They like to travel all over Indiana to visit different festivals, and decided to check out Edinburgh’s bicentennial.
Dean was already somewhat familiar with the town and had visited in the past because he worked in the lumber industry.
“We travel all over Indiana to all the fests,” Dean said. “It’s interesting, seeing different people and a little bit different traditions.”
Elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Greg Pence, Johnson County Commissioner Brian Baird, Sheriff Duane Burgess and members of the Edinburgh Town Council, also made appearances to commemorate the occasion. Gov. Eric Holcomb was also invited, and could not attend, but he sent a letter to the town congratulating it on its 200-year history.
Planning for the bicentennial and seeing it come together this year has been a “labor of love,” said Sarabeth Drybread, the event organizer, on Saturday.
“It’s all about memories, and it’s all about the, you know, honoring the past and celebrating the future, and we’ve had so many incredible stories,” Drybread said.
