The Box Butte County Courthouse is celebrating it’s 100^th year in 2014. The courthouse was moved from Hemingford, NE to Alliance, NE in March of 1899. A special election was held and Alliance won by a majority and the courthouse was voted to be moved.

Mr. E. W. Bell was given the responsibility of the moving of the courthouse. The office furniture, safes and records were moved first. The office supplies were moved by a dray wagon to Alliance. The moving of the office supplies was an easier move than the actual courthouse. The courthouse was 36 feet by 48 feet and stood 45 feet high, weighing about 95 tons. The courthouse was moved by horsepower to the railroad where it was loaded on to a train. The courthouse was jacked up about three feet from the ground and planks were laid on the ground lengthwise underneath the building. Large rollers were placed between the planks and the building. Several teams of horses provided the power for the moving.

About every twelve to fifteen feet the teams of horses would be stopped to rest and allow the men to take up any of the rollers that had begun to come out from underneath. Several days were required to travel the three blocks north to the railroad tracks. An incline plane was built up to the flat railroad car. The trip from Hemingford to Alliance took a total of six hours. On arriving at Alliance, the courthouse was moved to its final resting place, the same way it was taken to the train. The courthouse that made the move was used until 1914 when it was moved east to allow the present brick structure to be built on site. The original courthouse is now resting at 619 Platte Ave.

The courthouse that still stands today at 515 Box Butte Ave, was built in 1914. The three people that commissioned the new courthouse were C. L. Hashman, J. M. Wanek, and S. C. Reck. Rose and Peterson are the architects that drew up the blueprints for the current courthouse.

The 100-year anniversary celebration of the Box Butte County Courthouse will be held on December 15, 2014 from 3 to 5pm. The employees of the courthouse will be holding tours, refreshments, and re-dedication ceremony. The re-dedication ceremony will take place at 4:00 pm in the front lobby with the Honorable Judge O’Gorman officiating.