History of The Ashland Arts Council

In 1979, Barbara Ziegenbein and other Ashland citizens, with encouragement from Alice Graham, made a trip to Neligh, Nebraska to look into the success of their arts council. Based on what they found out there, in 1980 charter memberships were advertised for an Ashland arts council. With the help of C. D. Lutton, articles of incorporation were filed and in 1982, the organization officially become the Ashland Arts Council. In 1992, AAC acquired St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, where they held many events. Since 1999, the AAC has annually selected a graduating senior for Ashland-Greenwood High School to receive their (used to be $500) $1,000 scholarship for those pursuing the arts.

-Taken from writing by Shirley Simpson in 2007