The story of Newcastle’s City Hall: Part I

By Bri Brasher 
with Leonard Cash
NLJ Reporter
 
Historian Leonard Cash highlights the timeline of Newcastle’s current City Hall building in this week’s installment of the News Letter Journal’s History on Main series. Talk of today’s City Hall, located in Block 8, Lots 1 and 2, began in the fall of 1949 after the first City Hall building was torn down in 1948 because the state of Wyoming labelled the structure a road hazard, according to Cash. He said the first City Hall was built in 1890 on the corner of Block 9 where Fresh Start sits now. 
According to Cash’s records, local news reports began on Oct. 27, 1949, when construction of a City Hall in Newcastle was a top priority for city officials, who issued bids for construction of a new building. The News Letter Journal reported that the city would receive such bids until 8 p.m. on Nov. 29, and the bid specifications called for “furnishing materials, equipment, labor and performing all the work for the construction of a City Hall in accordance with the plans and specifications prepared by Julian Staven, consulting engineer.” 
The article also stated that the structure was to be 50 by 110 feet and made of brick and concrete. It would house City Hall, police headquarters, and the fire station. Cash said City Hall was located upstairs and the fire hall downstairs. The building was to be built north of the county ag building. The News Letter Journal reported on Oct. 27, 1949, that “the city has been without a hall for several months since the old building was dismantled and local organizations have been forced to hold meetings in the library, high school or private homes.”
The next report on the projects hit the stands on Nov. 3, 1949, when the notice to contractors was repeated. On Nov. 28, the News Letter Journal reported that bids were to be publicly opened and read aloud, and the bid would be awarded as soon as possible thereafter. Bidders were Max Lupton of Gillette and Earl Stoneberger of Lead, South Dakota. Both bids were rejected, according to Cash’s records. 
Another notice to contractors appeared in the local news on April 6, 1950, stating that the deadline for construction bids was extended to 7:30 p.m. on April 24. The building must have been scaled back in size because the News Letter Journal reported the building’s size to be 50 by 47 feet at this time.
Julian & Sundstrom secured the contract, coming in with the lowest and best bid, according to a May 4, 1950, article in the News Letter Journal. The bid was approved by the city council. 
City offices were then moved into the new fire hall in the last week of December 1950. The News Letter Journal reported that “Mayor Ty Thomas announced this week that the city offices would be moved to the new city fire hall just north of the court house Wednesday afternoon. The offices will be located upstairs in the building and will be open and ready for business Thursday morning.” 
A Dec. 28, 1950, article also stated that plans for the purchase of a new fire truck for Newcastle were beginning to come together. It was reported that at a recent City Council meeting, the board voted to ask for bids for the “chassis of the new firefighting unit.” The councilmen asked that bids be given in writing and received at the office of the town clerk up to and until 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16, 1951, according to the news report. It also noted that the city offices were moved from the Mumper Building to the new fire hall on Dec. 27.
Cash then skipped to the next article in his records dated Sept. 30, 1954, when bids were opened by the City Council for a new city building and police station, which Cash clarified as an addition to the structure already in place. According to the News Letter Journal, Fulton Construction Co. of Douglas was the apparent low bidder. The company priced construction at $55,000; the highest bid was reported to be over $74,000. Meanwhile, the electrical contract went to Don’s Electric and Repair of Newcastle at $4,845, while a single bid of $19,949 was offered on the plumbing contract. The article stated that “the City Council asked for a building which would meet the present municipal and police needs of the city and to which an addition could later be made.”
On Dec. 2, 1954, the News Letter Journal reported that contracts were let for the construction of an addition to the present city building at a meeting of the City Council. Julien Construction Co. was awarded the general construction contract, R.S. Skanadore was awarded the mechanical contract, and Ace Electric Co. was awarded the electrical contract. The cost of the structure was reported to be $43,997.25, although it was said the contract didn’t  include complete finishing of part of the rooms or a boiler for the addition.
Part II of Newcastle’s City Hall story will be covered in next week’s issue of the News Letter Journal.