In honor of the 200th anniversary of the founding of Monroe County on Jan. 6, 1816, hundreds of residents of all ages joined together as one at high noon on New Year’s Day to “ring in” the Bicentennial.

Commemorative blue bells bearing the Bicentennial logo were handed out during simultaneous bell ringings conducted in Waterloo, Columbia, Valmeyer, Hecker, Maeystown, Fults and Renault.

Attendees signed posters at each location that will be placed in a Bicentennial time capsule to mark this historic occasion.

Others gathered at local churches or their family homesteads to join county residents in solidarity, ringing bells of special significance to them.

A crowd estimated at nearly 400 gathered at the courthouse bandstand in downtown Waterloo to ring in the new year. A hundred or more residents huddled together outside Columbia City Hall to participate in the event.

Before ringing the bells outside Valmeyer Village Hall, Bicentennial co-chairman Dennis Knobloch, the current county clerk and former Valmeyer mayor, spoke to the crowd. He talked of Monroe County’s 150th anniversary celebration in 1966 and his grandfather making him attend several Sesquicentennial events that year.

Although he didn’t truly appreciate them at that time, Knobloch said he’s now thankful he was there to take it all in. Knobloch used this story to encourage parents to take their children to the Bicentennial events this year.

For a list of upcoming Bicentennial events, visit online at .

Following is the full proclamation that was read throughout Monroe County on Jan. 1:
WHEREAS, during the Year of our Lord, 2016, Monroe County, Illinois will celebrate 200 years of organization, and you have all done your part to begin the celebration by “Ringing In the New Year,” and
WHEREAS, the natural features and geographic location of this area have made the Southwestern portion of what would eventually become Illinois very attractive for settlement for thousands of years, and
WHEREAS, the level of development in this area prompted the political leaders of that time to seek incorporation of this area as a county under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Territory in 1816, and the local political leaders decided to name this County – MONROE – after the United States Secretary of War, James Monroe, who would go on to become the fifth President of the United States – serving from 1817-1825 and
WHEREAS, the inhabitants of Monroe County have labored and toiled – fostered and nurtured – and shared their dedication, skill and expertise to build and develop this county into what it is today, and we recognize the accomplishments and contributions made by those who have gone before us, blazing a trail to transform Monroe County into a wonderful place that residents feel blessed to call their “HOME,” and
WHEREAS, the County Board of Commissioners of Monroe County has declared 2016 as a year of reflection and celebration of this tremendous milestone,
NOW, THEREFORE, we encourage all residents to recognize and participate in the activities and events related to the Monroe County Bicentennial and to create memories that will live on for generations.  
WITNESSED by all those who participated in this event  on Jan. 1, 2016.