The Sherborn 1858 Town House was built with a bequest from Thomas Dowse, a 19th century tanner, leather dresser and renowned book collector who grew up in Sherborn and spent his adulthood in Cambridgeport.
An avid reader, he donated the funds to build the local Town House to serve as a gathering place for the community and site for higher learning in the classics.
The Town House was designed by Elbridge Boyden, a noted architect who also designed Mechanics Hall in Worcester. Boyden’s design incorporated an Italianate style like other East Coast buildings at the time.
The building rises two-and-a-half stories to a gable roof and cupola with a gilded weathervane. An 1858 newspaper article described the new Sherborn Town Hall as "a neat structure of sufficient size for the wants of the Town and containing two graceful stairways leading to the large meeting hall.” The Town had specified, “an edifice not so spacious and costly as some of our neighbors but one that in some good degree comports with the intelligence and taste of the age in which we live."
A fire in 1876 destroyed the first floor which was rebuilt to include a larger room with only 1 staircase, which was then occupied by the Town Library.
For over its first 100 years, the Town House also housed the town library, municipal offices, police department, and U.S. Post Office. It hosted and continues to host annual Town Meetings in the ballroom-style Great Hall on the second floor. The Great Hall’s expansive ballroom and open stage also made it the perfect site for many Sherborn social events such as dances and theater productions.
Today, local elementary school students attend “Social Dance” in the beautiful hall and Dover Sherborn Summer Drama will rehearse and perform its 20th season this coming summer there.
Town government gradually outgrew the Town House and in 1971 the Town Clerk and the Selectboard Office moved from the Town House to the Dowse Memorial Building. At this time, the Building Inspector reported to the Board of Selectmen that the 1858 Town House was in such poor condition that it should be condemned. Despite the report, the building continued to be occupied by the Police Department and the U.S. Post Office through 1984.
By the mid-1980’s, the Town House had fallen further into disrepair and could no longer be safely occupied. The town considered demolishing or selling it. A special Town Meeting held on Jan.17,1985 at which was presented a report recommending the sale or lease of the Town House, preferably to a non-profit organization that would repair and renovate it. The Board of Selectmen took preliminary action to promote the sale.
That summer, alarmed at the prospect of losing Sherborn's oldest public building, four concerned citizens, Robert Ambos, Patricia Cassell, Richard Husselbee, and Dewey Talbert, petitioned the Board of Selectmen to abandon the sale of the building. They proposed restoring it for the town’s citizens, as was Thomas Dowse’ original intent.
These four citizens created the Sherborn Community Center Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non profit. Over the next six years, the foundation raised almost $1 million and restored the 1858 Town House to its 19th century glory.
Sherborn’s citizens contributed most of the required funding through a steady stream of fundraising campaigns and events. The foundation applied for and was awarded a $35,000 grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission towards the restoration.
Additional funding came from various private foundation grants including a substantial contribution from foundations connected to the Lewis family, lifelong Sherborn residents. The volunteer board oversaw the reconstruction and renovation and many Sherborn businesses made valuable contributions donating their professional services to the effort.
The original white tin walls and ceilings were restored and painted and the exterior colors returned to their original hues. The original cedar shingled roof was replicated. The cupola, a New England mainstay, was rebuilt with a new copper roof and weathervane. Local artist Anita Sebastian stenciled historically accurate wall treatments in the first floor Conference Room, bathrooms and second floor warming kitchen and later painted a stylized mural depicting early Sherborn in the first floor School Room.
The newly restored 1858 Town House reopened its doors to the public in May 1992 with a dedication of the second floor to the Lewis Family followed by a Victorian Ball. The majestic chandelier in the Great Hall was donated by St. Theresa Church of Sherborn and was dedicated to the late Father John O’Connor. The community theater group, the Sherborn Players, produced a show called Back Home Again to inaugurate the 2nd floor stage. One year later the Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award was awarded for the restoration and the Sherborn 1858 Town House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Continuing the Mission
The Sherborn Community Center Foundation has since worked diligently to operate and maintain this beautifully restored building with the support of public donations, grants, and facility rentals and the Town House continues to be the site of many of Sherborn’s civic, social, and private events. The Town House is supported solely by private funding —no tax dollars support its operation or maintenance.
Today, local groups and organizations enjoy the use of the Town House at little to no cost — Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Council on Aging, local garden clubs, Daughters of the American Revolution, Sherborn Forest and Trail, The Friends of the Sherborn Library, Sherborn Lions as well as many high school sports teams and organizations. It has been the home of Dover Sherborn summer drama for almost 20 years.
The foundation continually looks for new ways to serve the community and sponsors community events such as the annual Holiday Market & Santa, The Sherborn 350th cocktail party, the Sherborn 350th Time Capsule commemoration and site, St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, Blood Drives and the ever popular Friday Night at the Movies for children.
The Foundation is always recruiting new people to get involved as board members, advisors or event volunteers and welcomes new ideas for building community through the doors of the Town House! If you have an idea you would like to share or would like to get involved, please email Sherborn1858events@gmail.com. Be a part of town history by helping us keep our mission alive for the next generation! https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/beef-and-bacon-stew?srsltid=AfmBOopssMb5hmcdqB8l9QUSb2yJu30IaqsbcZmEwp0x6uscDQV7zXqt
(Editor’s note: This story and photos were submitted by the Sherborn Community Center Foundation, Inc. and edited for style.)
