THE STORY OF
THE RAMONA TOWN HALL:
"As
the story goes, Augustus thought it improper for dances to carry on all night at
the school house, and that the growing town needed a place to serve that purpose
as well as a library."
The Ramona Town Hall was donated to the town people of what was then Nuevo on Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1894, by Augustus and Martha Barnett. Construction on the
two story edifice began on July 11, 1893 on two lots donated by realtor Milton Santee, and was completed in February 1894 at a cost of $17,000. (Later that year, at the insistence
of Mr. Santee, the town was renamed Ramona, to capitalize on the popularity of the fictional character from the best seller by Helen Hunt Jackson.) The Barnett's established an unpaid five member board of
trustees in perpetuity to administer the operation and upkeep of the Town Hall. For the past 118 years, the Ramona Town Hall has operated solely on private donations, fundraisers, grant moneys, and rent collected for use of the building. The Ramona Town Hall is not owned by the Town Hall Board of Trustees,
nor is it a public agency. The restoration work that has taken place in the past 20 years has been funded by county administered C.D.B.G. and P.L.D.O. funds, along with private donations. The work completed to date includes a complete seismic retrofit of the entire front portion of the building,
installation of new plumbing and electric wiring in the front, a new roof over the entire building, façade replacement, and fire sprinklers throughout the entire building.
Important Facts
The California Landmarks Advisory Committee approved
the Ramona Town Hall as a Point of Historic Interest on January 26, 1973
The San
Diego County Board of Supervisors designated the Ramona Town Hall as a Historic
Landmark on November 10, 1991
The Ramona Town Hall celebrated its 100th Anniversary on February 22, 1994.
The
"Save our Heritage Organization" presented the Ramona Town Hall Board of
Trustees with the
prestigious “Civic Restoration Award” on May 10, 1994, the Centennial Year of
the completion of the Town Hall
The Ramona Town Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 26, 1994.
The John P. Squibob Chapter 1853 of E Clampus Vitas dedicated a historic marker plaque for the Ramona Town Hall on April 25th, 2009 (The Chapter also presented a plaque that recognizes the Ramona Town Hall's place on the National Register of
Historic Places.
The 115 year old Town Hall is one of the oldest and last original Town Halls in California, and is registered as a State Historic Landmark.
The Ramona Town Hall is one of the largest and oldest adobe structures in the entire Southwest, and features an Romanesque/Mission Revival architecture, a style unique to its architect,
William Sterling Hebbard (1863-1930)
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A renewed interest in completing the seismic retrofit and restoration of the Ramona Town Hall is currently underway, new committees are being formed, and plans are being made. What truly promises to be a community project that every citizen of Ramona can take pride in is taking
shape.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED.
Now that we have covered the back taxes, we are seeking donations to help cover the approximate annual cost of $12,000 for insurance. Material and monetary
donations for the completion of the finish work is required to open the west wing. The current estimate to complete the entire front portion of the Town Hall is approximately $250k for materials and labor. (Qualified Volunteer labor
will greatly reduce this estimate.)
Until a fire destroyed a portion of the front section in 1995, the Town Hall
served as a community focal point, provided by and for the people of Ramona. It
is the goal of the Ramona Town Hall Board of Trustees, and Friends of the Town
Hall, to make this
historic landmark available again to the people of our community. Send us
an e-mail, or call the Town
Hall at 760-789-8696 (TOWN) to have your name placed on our volunteer
contact list.
RAMONA
TOWN
HALL
