About Us
The Smithsburg Town Hall Tower Team is a subcommittee of the Smithsburg Historical Society. The goal of the Town Hall Tower Team was to restore the tower of the Smithsburg Town Hall to its original appearance and thanks to your help, our task has been competed.
How the Project Began
It was intended as birthday present to the town. Back in 2013, when Smithsburg celebrated the 200th anniversary of its founding, this project was brought up as one of the ideas for the celebration. However, 2013 was a busy year for the town—Not only did it celebrate the anniversary in the annual Pride Days, but 2013 was also the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Smithsburg, and it was not until the year after that efforts to restore the town hall tower began in earnest.
The Path to the Present
In the beginning, public interest surveys were conducted. This was done from booths at the Smithsburg Pride Days and at the annual Steam & Craft Show. Public interest and support for the project was very encouraging. Many Smithsburg residents did not even know the history of the town hall and its missing tower. The group began to raise funds to hire an architect to develop the necessary drawings and engineering work. (The tower below where the cap was removed is in very good shape) . The group planned a 3- year strategy. Funds from the community were sought first, and brought the project forward. Several raffles were held, as well as a House and Garden Tour, and two capital campaigns with donation request letters, which were successful. We secured a large grant for the project inlate December 2018, and identified and took advantage of other opportunites until finally, the mansard cap was installed early in 2019.