HOW MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT CAME TO WEST FLAMBOROUGH: PART 3

West Flamborough Township council expressed its first serious interest in erecting a township hall in 1875 when letters from Hugh Fraser and John Wharton were received, each offering property as a suitable site for the building.

In a June 1875 meeting a motion was moved that "the property offered by Jacob Cochenour be accepted as the site for the erection of a Town Hall at the price of $250," and the project should be planned and tendered. Tenders for the building were received almost immediately and the lowest tender of $2,330 from George Soper was selected. Council also accepted the proposal of a veranda over the front of the building at an additional cost of $100.

The one-and-a-half-storey building was erected set back with the front facade facing Brock Road and banked against a slight incline at the rear.

The design, although not as grand and imposing as the East Flamborough Township Hall, is a fine example of public architecture favoured by small municipalities in southern Ontario during the 19th century.

The most distinctive and unusual feature of the building is the double staircase leading up over the portico to the main entrance and a five-panel single-leaf door set almost flush with the face of the building.

Although council held its first meeting in the new hall on Dec. 27, 1875, it appears the work was far from complete. During 1876, there were several entries in the minute book about the outstanding work — the grounds around the hall to be levelled and seeded, erection of a retaining wall at the rear and a fence in front.

When the treasurer's report for 1876 was submitted, the actual cost of constructing the hall was $3,849.50 — a considerable increase from Soper's submission that council had selected a year earlier!