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| Ridgeway's original bandstand which stood in the street on the corner of Main and Cedar Streets, just in front on the building we now call the old Lions Hall. |
One of the most iconic symbols of Ridgeway is its bandstand which is located in Centennial Park on the south side of City Hall. It is a replica of the original bandstand which stood just across Main Street near what is now the old Lions Hall. The old bandstand stood over the town well and had a narrow ladder up to the top where the band played. They played on Wednesday and Saturday evenings when many people came to Ridgeway to do their trading.
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| The Ridgeway Band, taken about 1900. |
I am not sure when the bandstand was built, but it appears on the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated June 8, 1911 and was a central part of Ridgeway social life. In the April 25, 1912 edition, the Ridgeway Journal had an article about the Ridgeway Band organizing for that year’s entertainment under the leadership of J. H. Shirer. They paid for their own practice hall, music and instruments and they planned to play Saturday evenings in the bandstand. They were described as “A good strong bunch of musicians all of them and the whole bunch are old men in the music line, having played in bands in our city in seasons past.” The old bandstand was torn down to make way for Route T. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Oct. 16, 1985)
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| Photo from the Bethany Republican-Clipper about the bandstand's construction. |
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| Current band stand in Centennial Park under construction. |
The current bandstand was built as an almost exact replica of the old one with the proceeds from the sale of the books celebrating the Ridgeway centennial: “Ridgeway: Then and Now” volumes one and two. An image of the old bandstand was used on the cover of the first book and the book committee headed by Alice Jean Allen raised enough money from the sale of the books to build not only the bandstand but also do the landscaping around it. Centennial Park also includes the bell from the old Ridgeway City Hall and the flagpole was donated by the Ridgeway chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star when the group surrendered their charter and joined the Cainsville group.
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| Current bandstand, taken 2021 |
