This year, the Barton County Courthouse turns 100 years old. Friday, citizens are invited to celebrate the centennial of the historic building by attending an open house and building birthday party starting at 12 noon.

Barton County Administrator Phil Hathcock talked about the weekend festivities during Tuesday’s County Commission meeting.

Phil Hathcock Audio

Construction on the Courthouse began in November of 1917 and was constructed for approximately a quarter million dollars.

Commission Chair Jennifer Schartz encourages the public to take a tour of the courthouse on Friday, not only to see some areas of the building that they might not have seen before, but to also see some of the needed repairs that are going to have to be made in the near future.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

A structural analysis of the Courthouse was recently completed to investigate the extent and estimated cost of repairs on the building that is having issues with the four outside corners separating from the center of the building on the 4th floor. The board has yet to publicly discuss that report and exactly how many dollars will be needed for repairs.