OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) – In honor of the Juneteenth holiday, many people across the country are celebrating the end of slavery on this day in 1865.
And the celebrations are spreading here in Northeast Wisconsin, specifically Winnebago County, which hosted two Juneteenth ceremonies
The county courthouse hosted an observation earlier Wednesday at noon, while a second event was held at the Neenah Human Services building around 4 p.m.
Officials from across the county gathered for a reading of the Galveston General Orders Number Three, which notified the city of Galveston, Texas of the end of slavery on this day, as well as the Emancipation Proclamation.
“On the first day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free,” said Leah Ferguson, with Winnebago County Health and Human Services.
The Gavelston General Order became the reason for the Juneteenth holiday landing on June 19th of each year.
Juneteenth also had the honor of becoming a federally recognized holiday back in 2021.
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