[MassHistPres] 1830's Town Halls

[Tucker, Jonathan]

Amherst couldn't agree on whether or where to put a new town hall until
a downtown fire during the blizzard of 1888 burned down the commercial
block in which town meetings had been held and provided an opportunity.

Concerning the pitched fiscal battles over design and cost that ensued
between the local social climbers like Austin Dickinson (Emily's
brother) and the more reflexively thrifty local farmers, a local
newspaper editor observed:

"We should bear in mind the fact that the architect of the cathedral at
Milan, backed by the wealth of the universe, could not have designed a
village horse-shed that would meet with universal favor at the hands of
the citizens of Amherst".

Some things never change.

Jonathan Tucker
Planning Director
Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave.
Amherst, MA  01002
(413) 259-3040
(413) 259-2410 [fax]
tuckerj at amherstma.gov   
 

-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Gregory Farmer
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:42 AM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] 1830's Town Halls

The 1833 disestablishment of the Congregational church
in Mass. provided the incentive for new town halls,
but the 1836 federal budget surplus provided the
means.  

President Andrew Jackson, in order to thwart the power
of the Bank of the United States, returned the 1836
federal surplus directly to the states.  In
Massachusetts, that money was distributed to the
respective municiplaities and provided the capital for
constructing many of the new town halls.



Gregory Farmer
Agricola Corporation
P.O. Box 861
Chicopee, MA 01014-0861
Tel 413-592-3875
Website: www.agricolacorporation.com
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