If walls could talk, the old Kendall town hall would have a story to tell. Her story begins here.
Kendall had a Universalist society of about 70 members in 1832. (mind you, Kendall was charted in 1837, so prior to 1837 we were called North Murray). They were in need of an edifice to call home for their church services. They typically would take turns having services in different homes of the members. Alanson Whitney was a stout Universalist and a trustee of the church. He donated his land east of Main Street in 1855. The Greek Revival church was built by Carlton Bridgeman for $2300. Hitching sheds were built to the north of the building, which stood for a century and then were torn down.
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| (This is the only picture found so far of the old town hall with the steeple still attached. Photo was taken in 1907 after a freakish wind storm hit.) |
*A side note about Alanson Whitney. He was our town's first supervisor in 1837. He died in 1855. He never got to see the completion of the church. His widow and heirs in 1856 deeded to the trustees of the Universalist society the lot on which the church edifice stands. The deed was recorded on 2 April 1859 in Book of Deeds 53 on page 189.*
The Universalists, a few years after 1874, did not utilize the church anymore. The German Lutherans in 1887 decided to rent the church for $40 a month and did so for about three and half years until their church, the Concordia Lutheran was built.
After the Lutherans, the building sat vacant until the late 1890's when the town acquired it for use as a town hall. No longer would town council have to conduct business in private homes and business locations. The building was used for town meetings, was a voting place, the Farm Bureau would hold shop classes here, and was also used for storage. I believe it wasn't till the 1950's-60's that because of the deteriorating nature of the building, council would once again start conducting business in private homes, the Kendall Fire Hall, and the Town Highway building. The building did not have plumbing or heat.
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| This photo was taken in 1917 inside the old Town Hall. This is the Kendall Home Guard (WWI). |
The next series of photos shows the evolution of Town Hall before it becoming dismantled for its new home in Childs, NY and becoming part of the Cobblestone Museum as Farmers Hall. The location of the building was between the Kendall Fire Station and the current Town Hall.
www.cobblestonemuseum.org/content/historic-buildings
