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Harding County Courthouse was once a
school |
by Cee Savvy
(Cecile Lunsford Crosthwait, '28) |
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Word came from Santa Fe that breezy
day in March of 1921 that the county of Harding had been created and Mosquero was the
county seat. The Mosquero School was to become the county courthouse.
Teachers and enthusiastic students paraded through the dusty streets
behind a banner proclaiming "Just Born: Harding County", while they sang
patriotic songs to announce the momentous event. |
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Sometime afterward, they learned that
their three-room school, located two blocks south of Main Street, would
be the county courthouse. |
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In June of that year, the newly
appointed county officials moved into the school and set up the county
government. Six months later, they moved out into a vacant store
building so that construction of a proper courthouse could begin. |
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Teachers and pupils got a fine red
brick building which has since been replaced by a complex of units. |
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But the courthouse is still in use.
Built around the L-shaped school, this two-storied structure is almost
square. Some of the pupils who recited in the original classrooms
have in later years returned to the same location to work in the
courthouse. |
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Revenue sharing funds in 1973 updated
the Harding County courthouse with a new sewer system and first-time
fluorescent lights. |
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In 1997, the first and only elevator
in Harding County was added to the north side of the Courthouse to
comply with the Disabilities Act. |
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