In December 2020, another reference to Darrtown's town hall was discovered in the February 20, 1929 edition of the Hamilton Evening News.
The collapse of the town hall was noted in a story about the Tallawanda Garden Club. The news article named the winners of a “states and capitals” contest and reported that the winners of the contest “received wooded rug hooks for their efforts. The hooks were made by Frank Bufler from material from the old town hall which recently collapsed. The dates 1826 and 1929 were carved on them. They will be treasured as souvenirs with a bit of Darrtown history…”
The above image of the Darrtown Town Hall was replicated from a photograph that hangs in the St. Matthew Lutheran Church - Darrtown, Ohio
Prior to December 2020, the existence of the Darrtown Town Hall has been cited in the following locations on this website:
1. The Early History page: “The early histories report Conrad Darr, the town's founder, donated land for a Darrtown Town Hall, which was built in 1826 or 1827.”
2. The History/Darrtown/Chronology page: "1826-1827, The Darrtown town hall was built to be used by all religious congregations as a place of worship. Conrad DARR gave the land on which the house stands. Among the leaders in this enterprise were Joseph HAYNES, a blacksmith, who lived one mile east Of town; in 1814, and perhaps was the first within this part of the township; Jacob OGLE, a man of many excellent parts, and James WALDEN, who lived on the farm now owned by Huston KIGER, the latter of of whom has a large steam saw-mill. [Source: Butler County OHGenWeb Project page / Milford Township:pages 562-574]"
3. A 1914 map of Darrtown includes a hand-written notation of a town hall - located in Lot #31 (near the east end of Apple Street).
Additional
proof...
Webmaster note: Wikipedia offers this definition of "rug hooking."
Rug hooking is both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. The loops are pulled through the backing material by using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage.
BELOW: This is an image of a modern rug hook.
BELOW: This is an image of a vintage rug hook.
We do not have an image of the rug hook crafted by Frank Bufler; but, from the news article above, we know that he included two dates on the rug hooks he created. Presumably, the two dates (1826 & 1929) commemorated the construction and destruction of Darrtown's town hall.
DARRTOWN TOWN HALL COLLAPSES!
The following 1928 news article was found during an Internet search in January 2021.
This news report includes several tidbits of Darrtown history (see Webmaster notes below).
Build for Union church
Conrad donated lot
Kyger farm on Scott Road?
A SHARED house of worship
Birth of Union Sunday School
See Frank and Addie at Bufler pg.
Presumably, this means "no longer a meeting house" for CHURCH SERVICES.
