Lyman will celebrate its 100th birthday Saturday at an old landmark the town hopes will become the new center of its identity.

The Minkler mansion, built in 1891 and the only building in town on the National Register of Historic Places, has been converted in the past year from a private residence to the town hall.

But the town doesn’t own the well-preserved Victorian house just yet. The deed belongs to Skagit County, which paid $393,000 for the property on Lyman’s behalf in July 2008. Lyman didn’t have all the grant money it needed at the time to meet the property owner’s deadline for the sale.

The town received a $200,000 grant from the state just before the sale and netted $125,200 from the sale of a city property in the last few weeks, Mayor Debra Heinzman said. The money earned from the recent sale will go into the mansion fund.

But it’s still not enough. The town is obligated by a contract with the county to pay the full purchase price plus a fee, totaling $407,737, by July 29.

Heinzman said she will ask the county for an extension.

County Commissioner Sharon Dillon, whose district includes Lyman, said she couldn’t say whether the town would get some more time to purchase the mansion.
“I knew she was going to” ask for an extension, Dillon said, referring to Heinzman. “It’s a decision of the three (commissioners).”

Heinzman said the town continues to pursue more grants but has high hopes for a $500,000 federal earmark requested by U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen for the mansion. The money would go toward the purchase and renovation of the building.

The mayor said she was confident the president would sign the appropriations bill with the earmark for the mansion by January, but the House version of the bill is still in subcommittee and is a couple steps removed from a vote of the full House of Representatives.

Heinzman said the town will make a push during the centennial celebration on Saturday to raise money for the mansion by selling pavers engraved with donors’ names.

Lyman is taking pains to recognize its 100th birthday with a nod to its history and with something new to take into the next century. The honorary guest at a flag-raising ceremony scheduled for 1 p.m. is Eleanor Minkler Aiken, 92. Aiken is a granddaughter of Birdsey Minkler, the influential mill owner and politician who built the mansion. For the occasion, the town has a new 38-foot flag pole, donated by the city of Sedro-Woolley.

Doug Wood, Sedro-Woolley’s police chief, will be the master of ceremonies on Saturday and will speak a little about Lyman’s history.

“His wife (Stephanie Wood) grew up in Lyman,” Heinzman said. “They have a lot of ties here. I wanted to get somebody that was from upriver. He was definitely my choice.”

The ceremony coincides with Lyman’s annual car show, which has grown since it began nine years ago. Last year, the event drew some 125 cars, organizer Nancy Trythall said.

“We hope that with all the events that’s going on and the positive response we got last year from the show, we’ll have more cars,” Trythall said.

Asked to contemplate her position as the town’s mayor on its 100th birthday, Heinzman said Lyman was at a turning point.

“The community involvement this year has been unbelievable. I’m really feeling that sense of everybody wanting to help,” Heinzman said. “If we all donated to our own communities, we wouldn’t have to ask everyone else to help us all the time.”

• Ralph Schwartz can be reached at 360-416-2138 or .