‘Long Lost’ Photos Show The Construction Of Edmond Town Hall

By Steve Bigham

A collection of long-since-forgotten photos of the Edmond Town Hall construction will be on display at Edmond Town Hall this weekend as part of the town’s holiday festival.

The pictures were taken back in the late 1920s and show the town’s most famous building in mid-construction.

“It had to be 1929 or 1930 because they opened town hall in the summer of 1930, I believe,” said Town Hall Board of Managers Chairman Edgar Beers. Town hall staff members discovered the pictures earlier this year in the back of a desk drawer.

“I didn’t believe it when they first told me. They came out and said ‘you might want to take a look at these,’” Mr Beers explained. “As far as we know, the last they saw the light of day was in March of 1959 when they were printed. If anyone has any knowledge or information about these we’d love to have it. We have no idea who took them.”

The pictures depict construction of the first floor of the building in and around where the offices of the town clerk and first selectman are now located.

“You have to sit down and stare at them for a long time so you can decide where they are and what they’re doing,” Mr Beers added.

Several construction photos did appear in The Newtown Bee in 1980, when the town was commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the building.

On June 20, 1928, benefactress Mary Hawley offered the town $750,000 for the construction of what would become Edmond Town Hall, in memory of her great grandfather, William Edmond, judge, congressman, and patriot.

A building committee headed by her close friend and financial advisor, Arthur T. Nettleton, was named, architect William Sutherland of Danbury was selected, and builders Wells & Lyons were chosen. Less than five months later, ground was broken on November 7, 1928, and in the months that followed the town watched with great interest as the structure took shape.

Miss Hawley herself took great interest in the project and reportedly made regular visits to the site for inspection. “It was considered to be the greatest thing that ever happened to the town,” noted one longtime resident.

In the August 22, 1930 issue of The Bee, the new town hall on Main Street, which had been turned over to the town the day before, was described as a “model of beauty” and “the finest structure of its kind in New England.”

Miss Hawley died three months before the building officially opened.

As pointed out in the book Newtown: Past and Present, townspeople are inclined to take for granted the building and its Georgian style architecture. Until 1970, its construction and maintenance cost the town nothing. In addition to putting up the $750,000 for construction, Miss Hawley also set up a $250,000 trust fund for its maintenance.

Today, the building is a symbol of the town’s municipal space woes. Overcrowded offices have forced the town to consider constructing a new town hall or expanding the existing one. There are some who believe Edmond Town Hall is no longer suited to be the seat of town government, particularly since many town offices are located elsewhere. There are others, though, who believe the seat of government must remain on Main Street in the town’s beloved 70-year-old Edmond Town Hall.

The photos will be on display Saturday and Sunday in the main lobby at Edmond Town Hall.