Newtown Borough Council Chambers - Newtown Historic District - Newtown, PA
N 40° 13.803 W 074° 56.190
18T E 505402 N 4453292
This building has been the home of borough chambers since 1858 and is said to be the oldest building in the state still in use for its original purpose as borough chambers. To the right of this structure is the town's war memorial set in a plaza.
Waymark Code: WM8F91
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2010
Views: 3
This tiny but very old building is the Newtown Borough Hall. On April 16, 1838, the village of Newtown received its own municipal identity, distinct from that of Newtown Township, when it was formally chartered as a borough by the Pennsylvania Legislature.
In 1854, the Borough approved the plans to build this building, located at 23 North State Street. Construction started in 1857 and was completed by 1858. The building was used as both council chambers and lock-up, with the lock-up seeing steady action service until the 1940s. Interestingly, the mason who built the walls of this building and lock-up became the first prisoner, confined by the very same walls that he built, for pig stealing.
Major restoration of the chambers was undertaken and completed in 1976 to coincide with the National Bicentennial celebration. The distinctive Greek revival structure has served the borough's officials since its 1858 opening, the longest current string for any town hall in Pennsylvania.
A contact from the department of the interior was nice enough to e-mail me the nomination form in PDF format.
