Members of the Wilson Brewer Historic Park Committee met Tuesday morning to discuss their upcoming presentation to the Webster City City Council.

The committee will update the council on what the WBHPC has been working on over the past few months. This includes showing the overall conceptual plan of what buildings need repairs and improvements to the grounds, reviewing how the lead committees will work on the individual buildings on the grounds, and explain that this will be an improvement project by the city with the funds raised privately.

Veronica Guyader, Executive Director of The Fort Museum and Frontier Village in Fort Dodge, gave an update on the upcoming Spirit Lake Massacre Tour. The trip is being hosted by the Fort Dodge Historical Foundation and the Webster City Historical Committee. Stops on the tour include Lott’s Creek, Emmetsburg, Lake Okoboji/Arnolds Park, and West Bend.

According to Guyader, at least 40 people need to register for the bus tour in order for the tour to break even. There are currently nine people registered at Fuller Hall Recreation Center for the trip as of Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Seats on the bus are limited. The day trip costs $60 per person which includes the experience and a box lunch. The deadline to reserve seats is Wednesday, March 1. Tickets are available at the Fort’s Trading Post in Fort Dodge, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or at Fuller Hall in Webster City.

For more information about the tour contact the Frontier Museum at (515) 573-4231. Individuals can also contact Fuller Hall at (515) 832-9193 or City Hall at (515) 832-9151 to register.

Cheryl Patrou, volunteer at the Depot Museum at Wilson Brewer Park, highlighted potential displays for the 2017 season.

The displays would represent events and milestones during 1857, 1917, and 1957. Some possible items from 1917 include Webster City National Guard returns from the Mexican Border War March and Ethyl Barryhill’s Red Cross dress. Possible items from 1957 include news clippings of local events from that year. Patrou also mentioned photographs of the barns of Hamilton County and possibly bringing in an employee from the Sanford Museum in Cherokee to talk about the depot’s taxidermy collection.

It was also noted in the committee packet that 2017 is the 85th anniversary of the Bonebrights deeding the land, cabins, and artifacts to Webster City. It is also the 115th year for the Illinois Central Depot. Building of the depot began in the fall of 1901 and it was operational on Feb. 2, 1902.

The next meeting of the Wilson Brewer Historic Park Committee will be held on Tuesday, March 21 at 9 a.m. in the council chambers. A tentative work session is also planned for Tuesday, Feb. 28 in the council chambers.