LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In preparation for Lake County’s 150th anniversary celebration, commemorative banners are being raised in communities around Lake County this week.
Local business associations agreed to hang the banners, and in some communities, local merchants have stepped up to purchase the necessary banner brackets.
The Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation donated $2,500 in grant funds for the creation of the signature 150th celebratory lamppost banners to be raised in communities throughout Lake County.
The striking 150th logo and lamppost banners were designed by local artist Gerri Groody who donated her time and talent to the project. The lamppost banners were created by RAH Outdoor Media of Middletown.
To coincide with the community banners, the county of Lake also raised a celebratory banner on the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport and on both County-operated museums: the Lake County Historic Courthouse Museum in Lakeport and the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake. The courthouse and museum banners were created by Signs of Randy Hare of Clearlake.
The sesquicentennial celebration kickoff event will be held on Friday, May 20, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., in Old Courthouse Square in front of the Historic Courthouse Museum, at 255 N. Main St. in Lakeport.
This event kicks off the 150th celebration, which will continue through the summer and fall with a presence at several major annual events held in each community.
The banners will be in place throughout the summer and fall, for approximately 150 days, to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the creation of Lake County on May 20, 1861.
In honor of the celebration, Lake County Museum staff developed a sesquicentennial time line that depicts key events and happenings in Lake County over the past 150 years. Seven-foot-long posters of this time line will be on display in each community. Smaller-sized versions of the time line will be available for sale at the kickoff event.
In addition to its generous donation toward the lamppost banners, the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation also has presented the community with a challenge grant – if community donations to the 150th effort reach $2,500, the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation will match that with an additional $2,500, which, in effect, doubles the impact of those donations.
To donate, please send a check made payable to “Friends of the Lake County Museum – LC 150” and address it to: Friends of the Lake County Museum, c/o Lake County Historic Courthouse Museum, 255 North Main St., Lakeport, CA 95453. The Friends of the Lake County Museum is a local 501(c)(3) organization and the fiscal agent for the LC 150 effort.
For information about donating, call 707-263-4555 or send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To discover more, go online to www.LC150.org for information about Lake County sesquicentennial activities and events and for a fascinating look at historical video vignettes of life in Lake County in the 1860s. This site is updated regularly, so check back often.
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