CAMDEN — Camden Village Council members heard a presentation given by Cherry Anderson on the historic status of the Camden Town Hall, located at 56 West Central Avenue, during their bi-monthly meeting on Thursday, May 19.
Anderson informed council archivists for the Camden Area Historical Preservation Foundation Inc. recently discovered that on Oct. 10, 1997, Camden Town Hall had been nominated to be listed as a historic building with the National Register of Historic Places. This nomination was approved on Feb. 12, 1998, meaning the Town Hall has been nationally recognized as a historic building since that time.
As a part of acknowledging this approved nomination, council was presented with a certificate by Anderson, to be placed inside the building itself, which declares the building’s historic status.
This makes the Town Hall the second building in Camden to hold a historic status, the first being the school house.
Anderson encouraged council to purchase a bronze plaque to be placed on the outside of the building, giving a brief history of the building and announcing publicly its historic listing.
Councilwoman Debbie Hickman made a motion to purchase a plaque for no more than $1,000 dollars, councilman Jeff Steele seconded the motion and council approved it.
Camden Town Hall was built in 1889 and was originally called the Camden Town Hall and Opera House. Since that time it has been repurposed as a venue for a wide array of village functions, including, but not limited to, offices for the police department, fire department, and village administration, a jailhouse, and entertainment uses.
The Town Hall has undergone a great deal of renovations to preserve its history, while maintaining a safe and modern structure for current uses. Council made the decision to begin more intensive renovations in 2016, and intends to proceed with Phase 2 of its ongoing plans soon.
For more information on the history of the Camden Town Hall, visit camdenohio.org.
Camden Village Council meetings are public meetings held on the first and third Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m. at Camden Town Hall.
