Town Hall
Text excerpted from: Aber, Ted, and King, Stella, The History of Hamilton County. Lake Pleasant, NY: Great Wilderness Books, 1965 and Aber, Ted, Adirondack Folks. Prospect, NY: Prospect Books, 1980
Proud of its town hall, the officials of Indian Lake continued to give it full attention. Fearful lest it be damaged through wider service, its use was limited to town and county purposes only. Public criticism of the move became so intense that the town board recanted at its next meeting, agreeing on April 11, 1903 that church groups might use the town hall as formerly unless excluded by the insurance company.
The fire of 1921 brought the need for emergency quarters on the part of the business firms of the village. It was agreed on January 17, 1922 that the monthly rental of Town Hall would be set at $20, to be proportioned as ten dollars to H.A. Palmatier & Company, six dollars to Nelson Ste. Marie, and four dollars to J.E. Lawrence, the barber.
The move tended to set a precedent for use of the building, but the Town Board held firm. W.H. McDonald was refused rental of the upper part of Town Hall for selling candy and cigars and having a pool table on November 8, 1923. The space was rented to H.S. Monthony from May 15 to November 15, 1924 for $60, however.
The shrill fire siren brought the Indian Lake firemen from their beds on September 14, 1943 at 1:20 am. The Town Hall, occupied since 1892, was a total loss, estimated at $7,000. However, most valuable records and documents were saved since they were kept in safes. The doors of the largest safe were badly bulged and a technician was called from Albany to open them.
On September 14, 1943, the Town Board agreet to lease William McCane's store as an office for town officers for one year at $480, McCane to furnish heat and the Town to pay the electrical bill. The year of occupying McCane's store grew to 37 years.
Source: Aber, Ted, and King, Stella, The History of Hamilton County. Lake Pleasant, NY: Great Wilderness Books, 1965 and Aber, Ted, Adirondack Folks. Prospect, NY: Prospect Books, 1980
Photographs courtesy The Indian Lake Town Museum, Indian Lake, NY 12842
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2002 The Indian Lake Central School District, Indian Lake, NY