From Rutland Center Church and Cemetery Committee
Mark and Jean Hanson
608-835-9712
Town of Rutland residents and friends gathered Saturday, October 2nd on the grounds of the Rutland Center Church and Cemetery to celebrate the donation of an acre of land and share information about family members buried at the historic site.
Three daughters of Herman Anthony met with members of the Rutland Town Board to present their gift of land that will be developed into future grave sites. Elaine Karls, Marie Raymond and Mary Sanchez, daughters of Herman and Hazel Anthony represented the Anthony family who has owned land in the area for more than 150 years. Contributors Eugene Anthony and Robert Anthony were not able to attend the gathering. Town Board members Sarah Shapiro Hurley, Dale Furseth, and Milt Sperle accepted the one-acre donation and shared reminiscences with the Anthony family.
Community members had been invited to the Open House and Tour to learn about plans to restore the Rutland Center Church and expand the historic cemetery. Jerry Neath, a member of the Rutland Center Church and Cemetery Committee, presented a brief history of the church, which was built in 1852. Jennifer Ehle, another member of the committee, conducted an informal tour of the cemetery and received information about family members interred there.
The Rutland Town Board authorized the formation of the committee and asked it to plan for the restoration of the building and plan for the landscaping and development of the new property. The town now owns the property and intends to maintain it as a historic site. Co-chairmen of the committee are Myron Bacon and Jean Hanson.
The committee is also collecting family information and stories about people connected with the site and has established a collection to be maintained by the Oregon Area Historical Society in Oregon, Wisconsin.
More than $14,000 in cash has been donated and more than 70 people have joined the Friends of the Rutland Center Church and Cemetery Committee. Arlan Kay, lead architect of the Architecture Network, is donating restoration design and planning services to the project, and a number of individuals have offered their professional services.
In August the Wisconsin Historical Society placed the site on the state Registry of Historic Sites and forwarded nomination materials to the National Park Service for placement on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Information about the project or the Friends group can be found on the website at www.rutlandchurch.org, by contacting co-chairman Jean Hanson at jhanson@wistrout.com, or by calling 608-835-9712.
Photos:
Pictures of the Open House and Tour may be found at www.rutlandchurch.org/openhouse04.htm.
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