Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 42° 00.161 W 071° 30.833
19T E 291807 N 4653131
Historic city hall building in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Waymark Code: WM50MG
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2008
Views: 5
The Woonsocket City Hall has a core block erected in 1856 and additions erected in 1891. The interior has been remodeled several times over the years.
The building was commissioned by Edward Harris, Woonsocket's leading manufacturer. Originally the building had street level stores which generated income to finance the building. The second floor was designed to house a "Sunday school", not a religious school but a free school open to mill workers who could come on there one day off to learn to read and write. The third floor was a hall with seating for 1100. Many prominent speakers came to Harris Hall, the most famous was Abraham Lincoln who delivered a campaign address here on the night of March 8, 1860.
In 1863 Edward Harris donated the building to a board of trustees to administer for the benefit of the people of Woonsocket. The same year the second floor became the Harris Institute Library, the first free public library in Rhode Island. The trustees sold the building to the City of Woonsocket in 1902 and since then it has been City Hall. Over the years municipal offices took over more and more of the building and now occupy the complete building.
Name: Woonsocket City Hall
Address:
169 Main Street
Woonsocket, Rhode Island United States
02895
Date of Construction: 1/1/1856
Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications:
Plaque honoring speech given in build by Abraham Lincoln March 8, 1860
Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link]
Architect: Not listed
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