Juneteenth: A Freedom Commemoration was held Friday evening at the Willow Hill Heritage & Renaissance Center on Willow Hill Road near Portal.

Presented by the Bulloch County Branch of the NAACP and the Willow Hill Center, the commemoration featured entertainment, a Juneteenth exhibit, a tour of the historic Willow Hill School and the center’s other exhibits, plus other activities and refreshments.

Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, is officially June 19, next Wednesday. The state of Georgia, Bulloch County and the city of Statesboro are now observing it as well, with nonessential government offices to be closed Wednesday.

The original Willow Hill School near Portal, Georgia, was founded by formerly enslaved families for their children nine years later, in 1874. The current building was constructed on or near the same site in 1954.