News & announcements Saving your history Early accounts Maps Nearby towns People Churches Schools Municipal Organizations Businesses The mines Transportation Streets Buildings Entertainment Celebrations Sports Ethnic groups |
Home -:-
Site map -:- Links -:- Print
resources -:- Contact |
History
of Freeland, Pa. Donop's Hall |
|
What's on this page:
In 1890s-early 1900s newspapers, many events were advertised and described taking place at Donop's Hall. Seemingly conflicting information from 1873 and 1895 maps seem to show the building in two different locations. TOWN HALL #1: A town hall had been built or commissioned to be built by August and/or Margaretta Donop and was shown on the 1873 atlas map as being on the left side of Ridge street about 2/3 up the block from Front street. (Of course we don’t know if there was an actual building there when the map was made or whether it was just planned or under construction at the time.) ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() TOWN HALL / BOROUGH BUILDING #2: The first town hall was apparently replaced by a new one in 1884. Charles Stumpf book, p. 7: “At the second meeting of the Council in 1876 steps were taken to provide for a town 'lock-up' for those who did not abide by the law. It was built at the intersection of Pine and Johnson streets and became known as 'Fort McNelis' in honor of its first occupant. The lock-up was used until 1884 when the Borough Building was erected containing a council room and jail.” It seems to have been an interim borough building used between 1884 and 1900 when the new one on Centre and Walnut came into use, but it doesn’t seem to have been on the site of the building on Ridge and Walnut because that labeled as a vacant building on the 1895 map. I guess it’s possible that town hall #2 could have been built on the site of Fort McNelis at Pine and Johnson? There’s nothing shown by 1895 there on the map, unless one of the small 2-story buildings on the SW or SE corners was the lockup that they stopped using after 1884. WHERE WAS THAT 1884 BOROUGH BUILDING that Charlie Stumpf referred to? TOWN HALL / BOROUGH BUILDING #3: In Charles Stumpf Freeland book, p. 15: “Land for the Freeland Municipal Building was donated by the Freeland Chapter of the Knights of Labor. Construction began in August 1899. The first session of the Freeland Borough Council in the new council rooms was held on Monday, December 10, 1900.” That’s the familiar red brick Borough Building in use throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. TOWN HALL / BOROUGH BUILDING #4: The current borough building is on Fern street between South and Main streets, in the building that had been built some years ago by St. John Nepomucene Church for a community hall. A popular weekly bingo game was held there for some years. The building stands on what had been the site of the Freeland Brewery. Two questions: When was that building built at Ridge and Walnut streets? Where was the 1884 new municipal building located? Thank you to Ed Merrick, Darlene Miller, Shawn Carr, Mark Whitmer, Charlie Gallagher for help with thinking about this. Also to Ed Merrick for 1906 clipping, and of course to Charlie Stumpf for his research. |