EATON — A year full of celebrations of Preble County’s heritage and history continue on Sunday, Sept. 9, when county officials open the Preble County Courthouse for a special Centennial Celebration and Re-dedication.
The event will take place from 1-6 p.m. at the courthouse located at 101 E. Main St.
According to Commissioner Chris Day, on Feb. 12, 1916, the then-Board of Preble County Commissioners — Joseph A. Day, Silas Q. Buriff and William Johnson — unanimously selected Richards, McCarty & Bulford of Columbus and local resident, H.H. Hiestand of Eaton to prepare sketches and plans for the third “Preble County Courthouse with Jail.”
County officials consider the Preble County Courthouse “inside and outside, one of the most beautiful county seats in the State of Ohio.”
Commission Clerk Connie Crowell, along with Steve Pope and Janet Crowell Eby, have been planning the celebration for several months.
The Centennial Program will begin at 1 p.m. After the program, self-guided tours of the Preble County Courthouse will be open to the public.
The elected officials and departments located within the courthouse have been working diligently toward this grand celebration and are looking forward to meeting and greeting the public in their respective offices, according to Day.
Crowell added, among many beautiful and eye-catching attributes of the courthouse building is the Preble County Common Pleas Courtroom, which will be open for public viewing.
Other offices open for tours the day of the celebration include the Preble County Board of Elections, Preble County Prosecutor’s Office, Preble County Land Use Management Office, and the Board of Preble County Commissioners Office.
The original molds of the Preble County Courthouse will be on view for the public, along with many pictures of the construction of the building.
Day added, items from the recently-opened time capsule from the Preble County Courthouse cornerstone will be displayed in the first-floor lobby area, so the public can view those pieces of local history.
The cornerstone was removed on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. It took four hours of work to extract one of the courthouse foundation blocks to reveal the time capsule which was sealed in it on March 17, 1917.
County commissioners are currently collecting items to be placed in the 2018 time capsule, a project spearheaded by Brad Kramer. A ceremony to place the 2018 time capsule into the cornerstone will take place on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m., with the ceremony being conducted in the same manner as was done in 1917 by the Masonic Lodge.
