BARRE, Mass. – The Town of Barre will celebrate its 250th anniversary this weekend with a grand parade and fireworks, led by grand marshal and retired state Senator Stephen Brewer.

Hundreds of performers, musicians and floats will make their way through the town, with Brewer sitting nine feet atop a vintage stagecoach from the 1800s.

“It’s the culmination of a career,” Brewer said. “I was elected town selectman in 1977. I’ve got roots here, Barre means a lot.”

Brewer has been retired from the Massachusetts Legislature for roughly a decade, but ever the historian, his office is overflowing with mementos from more than three decades of public service.

When it comes to being passionate about Barre’s history, Brewer has plenty of company.

Lucy Allen helps run the Barre Historical Society and Museum and much like Brewer’s office, it’s an impressively thorough time capsule, including horse-drawn farm equipment, photos of town leaders and everyday people long passed. The crown jewel is a stagecoach ready to set the parade off in style.

“Fingers crossed the weather will be great, and we’ll have the stagecoach pulled by four Belgian horses, which will be the first time it’s been drawn by horses since the bicentennial parade 50 years ago,” Allen said.

Stagecoaches, Allen said, are particularly important in Barre’s history.

“It’s not just this stagecoach, the stagecoach industry in Barre was huge,” Allen said. “We were a hub of transportation, which is pretty difficult to imagine now when you try to get to Barre or give people directions.”

With Brewer riding atop the stagecoach, roughly a dozen members of the Barre Historical Society will be riding inside during the parade.

Kay Flick, secretary of the Barre Historical Society, said it sat in storage for years until the museum’s barn was built in 2000 to give it a proper display.

“The stagecoach began being conserved by Brian Howard in Pennsylvania. He took the door first, cleaned back. It’s all original paint,” Flick said. “Nothing was remade or redone, he did an incredible job with Q-tips wiping away seven layers of the varnish.”

Bob Bentley, president of the Barre Historical Society, said the stagecoach is the central focus of the parade.

“It’s 150 years old,” Bentley said. “It should be a very festive occasion. We’re all very proud of putting it together.”

As Brewer prepares to lead the procession, he’s excited, and hopes to see a big crowd lining the streets.

“I’m going to have a blast,” Brewer said. “But I urge people to come to Barre. Come on up Route 122 from Tatnuck Square, it’s only 22 minutes… History comes alive in this town. We respect history, and we put our money where our mouth is.”

The parade gets going at 1 p.m. Saturday near the Barre Post Office and follows Route 122 to Pleasant Street. There is a full day planned with other events as well.

For more information, visit the Barre 250th anniversary website.