Wenham Town Hall

There was no reason to have a town hall before 1833, because the church in town did just fine occupying the citizens attending a town meeting. In 1833 though, the decision for the separation of church and state comes in to place, meaning town meetings were no longer supposed to take place in the church. That being said, the people of Wenham continued their town meetings in the church for twenty years. In 1854, the people voted to build a two-story town hall. The town hall occupied the second story of the building, while a school room was on the first floor. The school was started by C.L. Edwards and then taken over by Francis M. Dodge. The second story of the building, where the hall is located, can seat up to 400 people for a meeting. It cost $5,908.77 to build the Town Hall, and it is still standing strong today. When it comes time to vote, folks flock here to have their voice heard. If you’re interested in joining a board or committee, check out the website and apply! Having a voice in your town is important, because you can help make the decisions that not only impact you and your loved ones, but the community around you as well.  

Today, there are a lot of committees that meet here, and the town hall website talks about it all. 

Images: Town Hall 1894, town hall 1893 with tracks on right side of photo, grammer school group 1890, leaflet from 1920 advertising an event about women voting