The Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers will host an open house in honor of Mary Elizabeth Hawley’s birthday on Wednesday, August 22, from 10 am to 8 pm, at the Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.

The public is invited to stop by the Mary Hawley Memorial Room, where a copy of the 1931 Act that created the Board of Town Managers and a star painted by Michelle Rosenthal and depicting six gifts that Miss Hawley gave to the town of Newtown will be on display. Guests may also sign the guest book.

The building that Miss Hawley donated to the people of Newtown in honor of her great-grandfather William Edmond continues to serve the community 88 years later. She had the foresight to include a proscenium theater, office spaces, and other elegant and useful gathering spaces that, along with a modest annual disbursement from a dedicated trust fund, have made it possible to generate most, though not all, of the revenue needed to operate the building.

Miss Hawley is best known for her generosity to the community through such gifts as the town hall, Hawley School, and Cyrenius H. Booth Library, as well as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument located at the head of Main Street, and others. She also made generous gifts to many other organizations in surrounding communities.

Although owned by the Town of Newtown, Edmond Town Hall is managed by a bipartisan Board of Managers composed of six members serving six-year terms. At each regular town election, two members are elected, both of whom must not be from the same political party.

According to the Town Charter, the Board “shall have exclusive care and maintenance of Edmond Town Hall and all grounds and buildings appurtenant thereto, and shall have the status, powers, and duties set forth in Special Act No. 98 of the 1931 session of the General Assembly as amended by Special Act No. 517 of the 1953 session of the General Assembly, which acts shall remain in full force and effect, except to the extent superseded or revised by this Charter.”