In less than two years Lawrence County will mark its 200th anniversary and County Commissioner Bill Pratt wants the celebration to be a combination of hoopla with history.

To reach that goal, Pratt wants to form a bicentennial committee to determine what kind of anniversary celebration the county should host.

“That is a big deal,” Pratt said. “We want to make up that committee with people like Chris Saunders (of Burlington) and (former Ohio University Southern professor) Bob Leith, if they are willing to do that. People who would have some insight into what kind of project we want to do.”

Possible events could include a bus tour of landmark spots in the county with re-enactors stationed there ready to give a talk on that location’s importance.

“They would start in different parts of the county and individuals would speak about the Waterloo Wonders or Hanging Rock,” Pratt said.

The commissioner would like to have the committee in place by mid-August. The official date of the formation of the county is Dec. 20, 1816.