Provides information to the public

EPHRATA - Do you want to learn how to find the tax and sales histories of homes and property in Grant County online? Would you like to see which voting precinct you live in with the click of your mouse?

If you don't know how to find these details on the county's Web site, a special open house explaining the information will be held Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in room 101 at the Grant County Courthouse in Ephrata.

The county's GIS maps are already available to the public at gismapserver.co.grant.wa.us because the GIS portion of the site went online roughly three years ago, said Megan Smith, Grant County's GIS coordinator.

The maps show a range of information, including pricing and sales details of homes and properties in the county and residents' voting precincts.

But Wednesday's event provides a chance to see the technology demonstrated by professionals.

"We want to show people what we do, how we do it and how we can help them," she said.

Home buyers, sellers and history buffs may enjoy attending the open house because there may be new aerial photographs of the county displayed, she said.

The aerial photos aren't on the GIS Web site yet, but there's plans to post them online in the future, she said.

History enthusiasts may be interested in seeing a 1909 railroad map that shows the old Hicksville stop between Wilson Creek and Moses Lake, and the Jerico stop between Beverly and Smyrna.

Smith said the county has plans to post the railroad map on its Web site. The map is now hanging on the wall, she said.

The county is also upgrading its Web site with new technology that is expected to make the site work faster, she said.

The open house was held for the first time last year as part of GIS Day, which is also the same week as the National Geographic Society's Geographic Awareness Week.