ROSE, Okla. — Cherokee Nation is celebrating the two-year anniversary of the Saline Courthouse Museum’s grand opening. The special event will take place Aug. 12 from 10 a.m. to noon and features a ribbon-cutting ceremony, artist demonstrations and more.

The event is open to the public and free to attend.

One of nine built by Cherokee Nation in the late 1800s, the rural courthouse is the last one remaining. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 just before Cherokee Nation regained ownership in the 1980s.

The site was preserved for many years through partnerships between Cherokee Nation and the Saline Preservation Association. In 2018, work began to fully restore and modernize the site for use as a cultural museum.

The Saline Courthouse Museum opened to the public on Aug. 13, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a grand opening ceremony was not possible.