City of Overton hosts sesquicentennial founding ceremony

OVERTON, Texas (KLTV) - An East Texas town holds a weekend party in celebration of their founding.

The city of Overton held a ‘sesquicentennial’ celebration, which included a street dance, parade and numerous other events.

Efforts have been made to renovate the old downtown area to bring back businesses, families, and the small town charm.

In celebrating the 150th birthday, organizers hoped to capitalize on the friendly small town neighbor atmosphere to bring in more out of town visitors.

“We were trying to go for old fashioned things, that’s why we did a pie auction, that’s why we did a kids bicycle parade. Trying to reach back to the past for things they might have done in older times. That would maybe touch on everybody’s nostalgic part and make them come here,” said Debbie Maxwell, a member of the Overton 150 sesquicentennial committee.

The celebration was capped off by the opening of a 1973 time capsule... and loading a new time capsule for 2073.

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