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The
Old Township Hall was built in 1856 for $400.00 by Nathaniel G. Butterfield.
Located at
10789 Silver Lake Road
,
this building has always served as a place for Township business and community
activities to the present day. Prior to the construction of this building,
Township meetings were held at the homes of the Township officers and by 1838,
were conducted at the store of Hanchett and Company.
A new hall was completed in 2001 and the "1856 Hall" was designated
an Historic District that same year. The
Township Government moved in the fall of 2001 to the new hall.
In the
1850s, the property where the building currently rests was owned by the Osborne
family and Catherine Jones. Based on historical accounts, Township officials
negotiated with each landowner to lease a half acre of their property. The
lease began on May 15, 1855 and for ten dollars the Township could lease the
parcel for as long as the building was used as a Township Hall. A more complete
narrative of this lease agreement, along with an early picture of the Township
Hall before the additions were added, can be found on page 217 in a book
compiled by the Green Oak Historical Society, entitled, Yesteryears of Green
Oak. The lease agreement continued up until 1965 when the Township finally
purchased one half acre from Mrs. Auguste Masak.
Originally
the 1856 Town Hall consisted of a single room with a white clapboard exterior.
The building exhibited various Greek Revival details. These features included the characteristic
cornice returns, a wide frieze board and pilasters located at each corner on
the front of the building. The Greek Revival Style was the prevailing building
style at the time the Town Hall was built. Heat was supplied by a round oak
stove, which was only used when meetings were being held. The building
originally had three double hung windows located on the East and West
elevations. These original wood windows still remain in the building. In the
1950s, an addition was added to the rear of the building. It was also about
this time that the building was clad in asbestos shingles, which covered the
original wood clapboard siding. By 1968, a concrete block wing was also added
to the East, which provided additional office space for Township business.
Still another addition was made to the building in 1984. The original hardwood
floor is still in use and has been sanded and covered with a protective
coating. The lighting fixtures that were used in the building before the advent
of electricity are currently being stored courtesy of the Green Oak Historical
Society. In the event the building is restored, these fixtures would be
reinstalled bringing back some of the original charm of the building.
Besides
its historic value, The 1856
Old
Town Hall
stands as one
of the few remaining symbols of the early government of the Township. A little
known fact that the first Republican Governor of the State of
Michigan
and of the Nation, was Kingsley
Bingham, who began his political career as a Supervisor here in Green Oak in
this very hall. The fact that the
building has continually been used as the center of Government in
Green
Oak
Township
, further
enhances the need to preserve the building as it has been linked to the growth
and development of the Township for 150
years.
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