Before any public corporation, municipality or other entity or person authorized to exercise the right of eminent domain under existing law, shall have the right to condemn or take any part of such lands, a plat of the grounds proposed to be taken, showing the part of the particular subdivision, shall be prepared and filed with the Governor of said state, together with a sworn statement of the engineer or superintendent in charge of such public work, that the taking of such lands is necessary to the exercise of the powers of such municipality or corporation; and it shall be the duty of the Governor to appoint three disinterested persons, resident householders of the county in which such land is located, who shall first take an oath to fairly and impartially appraise the value of the ground so taken, and the damage to the remaining parts of such subdivision by the taking thereof, and the said appraisers shall notify the Governor and the officers of such corporation of the time and place when they will proceed to appraise such damage, and at such time and place, upon actual view of the premises, the said appraisers shall meet and appraise the damage, in writing, and return one copy thereof under their signatures to the Governor of the state, and one copy to the principal officer of such corporation or municipality in charge of such construction, and if either party is aggrieved they may, within ten (10) days, appeal to the district court of the county where such land is located, in the same manner that appeals are taken from judgment of justices of the peace, where the amount of such damage shall be tried by a jury, as other causes are tried. In case no appeal is taken from the award of such appraisers, such corporation or municipality shall have the right to occupy such grounds by the paying into the State Treasury the amount of such award. In case either party appeals, such corporation or municipality shall have the right to occupy such grounds upon giving bond in treble the amount of the award, with sureties to be approved by the clerk of the district court where such appeal is pending, to the effect that the corporation or municipality will pay said award if such appeal be dismissed, or shall pay any judgment finally rendered in said action if the same shall be tried.
R.L. 1910, § 3184.