Whitley County celebrating bicentennial with birthday party

Whitley County is celebrating its 200^th anniversary this year, and county officials held a birthday party Thursday afternoon to celebrate, complete with a birthday cake and everything.

Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White, Jr. welcomed a crowd of about two-dozen people Thursday afternoon for a celebration recognizing the Kentucky General Assembly approving an order in 1818 to create Whitley County.

“We are celebrating 200 years of Whitley County’s existence. This is the bicentennial,” Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. said Thursday afternoon. “It actually occurred yesterday, but we put off the festivities due to the snow storm and some of the road conditions yesterday.”

On Jan. 17, 1818, the Kentucky General Assembly passed an act ordering the creation of Whitley County.

In addition to Thursday’s cake cutting that was attended by about two dozen people, the county has several other festivities lined up this year.

“We are trying to do at least one big event each month and are trying to incorporate the bicentennial and our history into a lot of the activities over the course of this year,” White said.

A time capsule is planned that will be opened in 50 or 75 years.

No birthday party would be complete without a cake, like the patriotic one seen above.

A coloring contest for young people is currently underway.

“It is involving a lot of the schools and involves several different age groups. We are trying to build it into some of the kids programs so they understand and appreciate some of the history,” White noted.

Former Williamsburg Mayor Marcella Mountjoy came up with the idea for the bicentennial celebration and helped with the planning that took place over the course of several months, White said.

“It is going to be a fun year celebrating 200 years of our history,” he added.