Intelligencer Staff,
06/23/2006
America's day, this year, will be preceded by Edwardsville's day -- or, more, appropriately days.
And much like our founding fathers had to work and wait to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the minds and muscle behind the Col. Benjamin Stephenson House have worked and waited to dedicate the home.
But the time has finally arrived.
Saturday and Sunday, July 1 and 2, our city will celebrate with the Stephenson House dedication ceremonies.
The two-day event will include a formal ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday that will feature many local and state officials. In addition, there will be a wide range of re-enactors conducting demonstrations as well as tours of the house and grounds.
Visitors will be able to see furniture makers, leather workers, cooking and baking demonstrations, a militia encampment and rope and basket makers.
The house and grounds have an early 19th Century feel and great pains have been taken to make the site as historically accurate as possible.
The Stephenson House was built in 1820 and is the oldest brick home in Madison County.
The property has changed hands many times over the years and the current chapter was started in 1999, when the city of Edwardsville, under the supervision of the Edwardsville Historic Preservation Commission, bought the house with the help of a state grant from the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Since that time, a number of individuals -- including the Friends of the Col. Benjamin Stephenson House -- have gone above and beyond the call of duty to bring the property back to life.
The number of volunteer hours and volunteer dollars that have gone into the project is staggering and we salute everyone who has helped.
Now, it's time for the Stephenson House to shine.
Next weekend, we will look back to the 1820s and remember the Stephenson family, while at the same time look to the future in grateful anticipation of what this historic site will mean to the people of Edwardsville.
©Edwardsville Intelligencer 2006
News and opinion for all the SigEp brotherhood. SigEp's "unofficial" blog.
