Rooted in Rail – Growing in Community is the theme of the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the Villages of Mazon, Verona, and Kinsman, all platted along the Chicago, Pekin, and Southwestern Railroad in 1876. The week-long event, Sunday August 2 through Sunday, August 9, 2026, will honor local history through family-friendly activities, historical exhibits, a lecture series, and the publication of a pictorial history album featuring photos and biographical sketches of community members from the three villages. Plans are also being made for live music, food trucks, and a beer garden during the week. Community member committee volunteers are promising a celebration that will be enjoyable, inclusive, memorable, and a local salute to the America250 celebration.
All proceeds from the Sesquicentennial Celebration will be used to fund new park equipment and future expansion of Mazon Centennial Park, which was constructed with the proceeds from the Mazon Centennial Celebration in 1976.
Kirk Houchin and Melanie Murphy, co-chairpersons of the celebration, are excited about the early planning efforts of various committees, especially the involvement of students at Mazon-Verona-Kinsman School in the Sesquicentennial event. Students in grades K-6 are participating in a Button Design contest. One winner will be selected and awarded a prize from each grade level, and an overall winning design will be selected for the official Sesquicentennial Button. Seventh and Eighth Grade students have been asked to help with a Memorial Street Naming project by reading prepared biographies of citizens nominated for the honor and choosing those individuals for whom four village streets will be renamed in their honor during the celebration event. The street naming honorees will be announced at the Sesquicentennial Kick-Off event on Sunday, August 2nd at the Mazon American Legion.
Information on the plans and activities for the Sesquicentennial Celebration can be found in upcoming postings in The Paper On-line, and at Mazon, Illinois Sesquicentennial Celebration on Facebook, the Village of Mazon website, and mazonfest on Instagram.
