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With old city hall gone, so too is a piece of Benson history
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| Local gathering: Participants dismayed by state of the country. (Thelma Grimes/photo.) |
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
Last month the old City Hall building on the corner of Huachuca and 5th Street was demolished because it was rife with asbestos, but in the process, some of Benson's history was lost.
The city spent more than $50,000 to have the building removed, making room for extra downtown parking.
However, lost with the destruction is the city's first fire department and an old jail.
The Benson Volunteer Fire Department Pension Board Committee on July 11, 1957 voted to loan the city money to build a new town hall.
Minutes from an Oct. 9, 1958 fire department meeting mention that the concrete floor for the new department to be located inside the new town hall had been poured.
The old fire department had been in the same location, but built with substandard materials and had to be replaced.
In a 1982 interview of retired Fire Chief Albert Comaduran, newly-elected fire chief Max Jones found out that the old building had sunk into the soil.
The fire department was later relocated to the newly-built police and fire building on 7th Street in 1988, which is also the current location.
Jones, who served as a volunteer fire chief for 26 years, said that even though the old City Hall had to be removed, the city should take a moment to remember the purpose the building served the community.
(Editor's note: Max Jones contributed to this story.)
Last month the old City Hall building on the corner of Huachuca and 5th Street was demolished because it was rife with asbestos, but in the process, some of Benson's history was lost.
The city spent more than $50,000 to have the building removed, making room for extra downtown parking.
However, lost with the destruction is the city's first fire department and an old jail.
The Benson Volunteer Fire Department Pension Board Committee on July 11, 1957 voted to loan the city money to build a new town hall.
Minutes from an Oct. 9, 1958 fire department meeting mention that the concrete floor for the new department to be located inside the new town hall had been poured.
The old fire department had been in the same location, but built with substandard materials and had to be replaced.
In a 1982 interview of retired Fire Chief Albert Comaduran, newly-elected fire chief Max Jones found out that the old building had sunk into the soil.
The fire department was later relocated to the newly-built police and fire building on 7th Street in 1988, which is also the current location.
Jones, who served as a volunteer fire chief for 26 years, said that even though the old City Hall had to be removed, the city should take a moment to remember the purpose the building served the community.
(Editor's note: Max Jones contributed to this story.)
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Kathy Suagee wrote on Nov 11, 2009 10:04 PM: