It will house a resource center, exhibition space and more, reps say
By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Common Council voted unanimously in favor of selling Elkhorn City Hall to the Walworth County Historical Society at its May 3 meeting.
The $1 sale of the city hall building, at 9 S. Broad St. in Elkhorn, to the WCHS has a Sept. 1 closing date, with city administration set to move into the new city hall this summer.
A subcommittee of the Walworth County Historical Society Board of Directors – including WCHS President Jim Boardman, Lisa Brellenthin and Pat Blackmer – said they had been working with Walworth County Administrator Mark Luberda in trying to build a 2,500-foot expansion onto the Doris M. Reinke Resource Center. However, a little known state law that would prevent them from donating the addition back to Walworth County ultimately brought that project to a halt.
Blackmer said they learned soon after Elkhorn City Hall would be available for purchase.
With little to no interest from other parties, Blackmer said the society determined that building could be a good fit for the historical society.
Entered into the National Registry in 2012, she said construction of the art deco building began in 1931.
“If we acquired it, it would be our largest artifact,” Blackmer said. “It’s basically a fortress, and while it does need some restoration and renovation, it will be a perfect fit for the historical society.”
After learning the city hall building would allow the society to nearly quadruple the floor space it would have gained with its earlier proposed expansion project, Blackmer said they reached out to Elkhorn City Administrator James Heilman.
“He was very proactive in assisting us in securing the building. He did a lot of background work for us,” she said.
Blackmer said throughout the process, the historical society has been working with Danielle Benden of Driftless Pathways in Lodi.
Dan Richardson of the WCHS, said Benden is a museum specialist, focusing on designing museums and museum spaces, helping local historical societies with those types of projects and helping with things like exhibitions, equipment and how to handle curation and collection the proper way.
Blackmer said the historical society is elated and thrilled with the approval of the purchase.
“There couldn’t actually be a better venue for us. We’re right downtown, high visibility and we’ll certainly bring a lot of traffic to the downtown area,” she said.
“And a lot of space,” Richardson added.
Boardman agreed.
“We’re going to have a lot more room, we’re going to restore it and it’s going to be a vital part of the downtown,” he said.
Plans for city hall
Boardman said with City of Elkhorn administration moving to the outskirts of town, residents have been concerned about what was going to happen with the current building.
“At least now they know that we are not only going to move our stuff up here, we’re going to restore the inside of that building,” he said, noting the historical society aims to have everything completed within five years.
“I think the people of Elkhorn are going to enjoy it and are appreciative that we’re moving in to restore this building and take it over,” Boardman said. “I think it’s going to be an asset to the community, and we’re really pumped up about it.”
Richardson said a big part of the city agreeing to sell the building to the historical society for $1 was that the society would agree to take care of, and invest in, the landmark building.
He said the historical society has had contractors look at the building, examining various items including HVAC and plumbing systems, the roof and more.
“We’ve kind of prioritized what needs to be done first, second and third,” Richardson said.
The first of those priorities, he said, is to replace the building’s roof, a project the city has agreed to let the society begin this summer while it’s still in the process of moving to its new administration building.
“The roof will be our first major endeavor,” Blackmer said.
From there, Richardson said, the historical society will look at other items that need to be addressed, such as cleaning up the exterior to keep it looking nice and other aesthetic items.
“As one thing gets done, we’ll move to the next and proceed from there,” he said.
Blackmer said one of the things that made this project possible – and will help to make repairs a possibility – is a bequest from the late Doris Reinke.
“Doris was a very active individual, and in her own right, you could claim her as one of the historians of Walworth County,” she said.
Move in schedule
Blackmer and Richardson said the society is hoping to officially begin moving in following the projected Sept. 1 closing date and the city’s move to it’s new building.
She said the historical society has somewhat of a multi-year phased development plan for the building.
According to Blackmer, the WCHS’s plan is to first move the Doris M. Reinke Resource Center over to the city hall building, with the resource center set to occupy offices on the ground floor.
She explained that the first phase would include moving the Paul and Katherine Schmidt Library over also, which is set to occupy the conference room on the second floor.
Richardson said the hope is to have those areas open to the public again in late winter or early spring of 2022.
Blackmer said the following phase would include moving the Veterans Museum and the Frank Eames Elkhorn Independent print shop over to the city hall building.
She said the historical society plans to use the offices currently used by Elkhorn’s Department of Public Works and Zoning as exhibition space as well as the current council chambers.
Blackmer said the historical society also plans to renovate the auditorium for future uses as well.
“It’s just a gem,” she said. “That area would be available for meetings, programming and more. It’s so fantastic… we have a million ideas.”
Boardman – a lifelong resident of Elkhorn who noted the auditorium used to host high school plays, graduation and other events – said the plan is to restore the auditorium to its original 1931 state.
“It’ll be available for tours, if you want to take a tour of the building, and we’ll use it for different events,” he said.
Boardman also noted the new building will allow the historical society to put up displays in the windows on Walworth and South Broad streets, which people can enjoy while walking by. He hopes that will also attract more public interest to the historical society.
Blackmer said other WCHS buildings, such as the Webster House and Carriage Barn, will remain where they are, and buildings like Heritage Hall will remain open as long as items aren’t in the process of being moved to the city hall building.
To follow the progression with the move to the new building, as well as other Walworth County Historical Society happenings, visit walcohistory.org or follow the organization’s page on Facebook.
The WCHS is also in need of members, volunteers and donations. For more information, email walcohistory@tds.net or call 262-723-7848. Membership forms are also available on the organization’s website at walcohistory.org, where children can join a free history club.
