COLUMBIANA – To celebrate the county’s bicentennial, the Shelby County Historical Society will be hosting a presentation by Bicentennial Scholars member, historian and author Mike Bunn at its quarterly meeting on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. at the Shelby County Museum and Archives.

According to Shelby County Museum and Archives Director Jennifer Maier, Bunn’s presentation will cover the history of both the county and the state and offer the audience a more in-depth view of how the county was founded.

“Mr. Bunn is going to present an interesting view of the state and county that we may not have seen otherwise,” Maier said. “He has a visually appealing presentation that people will enjoy. When you are able to paint a picture of what happened in our early days as a state, you can apply that to us as a county. We will all walk away with a better understanding of the challenges we were facing when the county was first founded.”

The presentation will only be a few days from the 200th anniversary of the day the county was founded, Feb. 7, 1818. Maier also said the county’s bicentennial will precede the state bicentennial, which will take place in 2019.

“We’re about a year older than the state,” Maier said. “We were originally part of the Mississippi territory.”

Maier invited everyone in the county to attend and said the presentation will be followed by a reception. Throughout 2018 and 2019, Maier said the Shelby County Historical Society will be hosting numerous educational events to celebrate the bicentennials of both the county and the state.