Celebrate Nebraska Sesquicentennial at Richardson County Courthouse

The Richardson County Courthouse last Wednesday hosted an open house to commemorate Nebraska’s 150th Anniversary, welcoming elementary school children from Falls City Public and FC Sacred Heart Schools. VIP’s Third Territorial Governor William A. Richardson (played by Gayle Swisegood) and J. Sterling Morton (Bruce Walker) were on hand, as were square dancers
Bill and Barb Ely and Nellie Ann Pfister. Refreshments were served and special displays decorated the hallways of the Courthouse. It was noted that the current Courthouse building was erected from 1922-25 at a cost of about $210,000, plus $10,000 for furnishings. It was last appraised in 2007 at $4.9 million. The history of Richardson County was on display for the Nebraska Sesquicentennial Celebration. Gov. Richardson, after whom the county is named, served from 1857 to 1859 and is one of four Nebraska governors to resided in Richardson County at one time or another. John H. Morehead was the 17th Governor of Nebraska from 1913-17, followed
by Arthur J. Weaver (23rd, 1929-31) and Dave Heineman (39th, 2005-15). The Sacred Heart fourth grade students in Jeff Barker’s classroom, as well as South School fourth graders taught by Danitra Dill, Tami DiGiacomo, Phil Janssen and Allison Mullins, provided special presentations
inside the District Courtroom on the third floor.
Folks also toured the former jail facility on the third floor, with most expressing relief upon the discovery that former County Commissioner Jim Sefried was, at long last, safely corralled by the iron bars.