MILLERSBURG, Ky. — The village of Millersburg is a community of less than 700 residents and sits in rural Bourbon County.

What You Need To Know

  • A fire destroyed portions of Millersburg, Kentucky

  • Christmas wreaths now decorate the town square

  • The wreaths not only help celebrate the season, but also serve as a reminder of how far the town has come

In June 2022, the quaint little town was devastated by a fire that destroy part of its downtown. A fire that dampened the spirits of many, but also delivered a Christmas miracle.

Lorrain Smoot is the co-creator of Millersburg Wreaths. She said, “After the fire, they put up a chain-link fence around the area to keep people out for safety and it wasn’t very pretty. So, we decided to decorate that fence. We would do these wreaths, and this is where the first project began, is on that fire fence.”

This year, Christmas wreaths decorate the town square. A symbol of unity from the countless hours of work put in by volunteers and the donations made by sponsors. 

“Well, at Christmastime, everybody does want to have a lot of Christmas spirit, and as we are going through this period of looking forward to the future, but preserving the past of the city, this was the way everyone could get involved and this was the way that people could honor loved ones and family members,” said Debbie Jackson a Millersburg city council member.

Each of the wreath hung here includes a tag of remembrance to honor a friend or family member.

Samoot said, “Many of these tags are from people out of town that I mean like from Washington state, from South Carolina, from Florida, that remember the people when they grew up here, the people that were influential in their lives. And so, from that, they have sponsored these tags.”

Jackson added, “I think it’s great that when people drive through here, they still see that people that live here very much care about the city and that they want to continue the spirit that is going on here.”

Christmas spirit in the form of these symbolic wreaths, a holiday tradition that the residents of this small town hope will bring joy and remembrance to those that pass by at Christmas time and beyond.

“I remember majority of the people on these tags, and as I walked down through there, I kind of feel like it’s a walk-through history or a walk-through old times. And I think of each of the people on the tags and the good times that I had with them or my family had with them and what they did for this little town, why Millersburg is here,” Smoot said.

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