LEXINGTON - Lexington residents will have to wait until spring before the final event from last year's sesquicentennial celebration will occur.

Burial of the time capsule was going to be part of the two-day commemoration in July, but the organizing committee decided to reschedule to allow residents more time to donate items.

"We're just waiting for some good weather and still taking donations," said committee Chairman Tom Shields.

Volunteer Amy Ford said residents didn't begin donating items until the sesquicentennial events began, so the committee collected throughout the celebration and December's Christmas on the Prairie festival.

The capsule, a 2-square-foot, concrete and stainless steel urn vault, was donated by Calvert-Musselman Funeral Home. It is on display at City Hall where donations are still being accepted.

"We have some funny stuff," said Ford. "Some kid drew a picture and wrote 'I am a rebel.' We also have lots of 4-H items, sesquicentennial T-Shirts, pictures and about 75 cards.

"We'd really like to have letters from people describing life in Lexington today, their memories of how things used to be or how Lexington has grown," Ford said. "We're really open to suggestions."

Ford said delaying burying the time capsule wasn't a disappointment for her or the committee, and it has given people more time to participate.

"I think its important for future residents to be able to look back at the activities and what we've done to celebrate our sesquicentennial," said Mayor John Mohr. "I plan on donating information on the Route 66 Biking Trail, the Ollie and Dorothy Myers Walkway and the sewer plans. I think it will be interesting for future generations to see how true we were to our goals and to compare the cost of these projects from today versus tomorrow."

Lexington was established by Bloomington businessman Asahel Gridley and James Brown in 1836. The first settlement was established by John Patton and his family when they erected a cabin in what appeared to be a deserted Indian village along the Mackinaw River in 1829. Lexington became an incorporated village on July 12, 1855.