BUCYRUS — Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser and other city officials are gearing up for the city’s bicentennial celebration in 2021.

In 1821, two years after settling in the area, Samuel Norton filed a claim for 400 acres at the land office and entered into an agreement with Col. James Kilbourne to lay out a town called Bucyrus. Shortly thereafter, lots were sold varying in cost from $30 to $250.

A Bicentennial Commission has been formed and has already been meeting to begin planning for the 2021 celebration.

“We have recently created the logo for our bicentennial celebration,” Reser said.

According to the commission, the Bicentennial logo was inspired by the Community Unity mural, on South Walnut Street, that was designed by art teachers at Colonel Crawford, Bucyrus and Wynford, including Zac Bauer, Mike Striker and Erin Duffy.

(Submitted photo)

The logo features the Crawford County Courthouse in a silhouette and the Bicentennial Commission added a red banner with the dates of when the city was founded and the bicentennial date.

Many still remember the week-long Sesquicentennial celebration held in 1971 and plans are in the works to successfully following-up on that event.

Fundraising will begin this fall and 2020 will be spent planning celebratory events and identifying possible “Legacy Projects,” which will be permanent improvements for the city.

Currently, the commission is planning for three “major” events along with several smaller events spaced throughout the year.

Reser said Bucyrus is blessed with numerous annual events with solid organizational structures in place.

“We plan on ‘piggy-backing’ onto these events by infusing Bicentennial-related activities,” Reser said. “Other cities, Sandusky for example, have had success with their Bicentennial celebrations using this piggy-back strategy.”

The commission is planning a preliminary target date of July 4, 2021, as a “Big Bicentennial Weekend” as the 4th of July is on a Sunday.

Planning for the Bicentennial celebration is in the early stages and more information will be released as it becomes available.