Kendallville City Hall

Kendallville City Hall was built in 1914. It is home to the Kendallville Police Department. Thirteen mayors have served in the building since 1914.

Kendallville's first city hall building was dedicated on July 4, 1907. The building contained offices for the mayor, superintendent of electric lights and waterworks, city clerk, city treasurer, marshal, street commissioner, and a modern, fireproof vault for records. The west end of the building was the fire department. The "barn" contained hay and grain bins, watering troughs, tools, and accessories typical for any barn. The stables in the barn had four stalls. The north side of the building provided quick access for the fire wagon and ambulance. The city hall building also contained a council room that sat 300 – 400 people. The Kendallville Standard reflected on the council room by stating, "This room is one of the handsomest in the country, and the citizens of Kendallville may now feel they have a room of their very own in which to hold meetings; necessary in the promotion of our civic progress."[1] The second floor had rooms to accommodate committee and school board meetings. Citizens of Kendallville took great pride in their new city hall building. It united several departments of municipal administration under one roof.

Unfortunately, the adored city hall building was only used for less than seven years before disaster struck. On March 21, 1914, a fire broke out in the basement of City Hall. "Two firefighters on duty in the City Hall fire station were playing checkers or cards when the fire broke out. According to the rumor at the time, the two firemen were not aware of the fire until the legs of their table started burning." The firefighters saved the horses and the fire wagon then began battling the blaze. The building was totaled. It was reported that the original building was poorly constructed and was sinking.[2] Crossed electrical wiring in the basement was the source of the flames. The fire left nearly $25,000 worth of damages. However, the city was able to claim insurance and recouped $20,500.[3]

The city recovered and rebuilt city hall. On July 3, 1915, the second Kendallville city hall was dedicated to the original site. A parade was organized to celebrate the dedication. Guest speakers attended the event. The keynote speaker for the dedication was the mayor of Indianapolis, William L. Taylor. During his speech, Taylor stated,

"The city of Kendallville is to be congratulated upon the erection of this splendid building. Every citizen that crosses the portals of the building should be welcome by every officer within its walls, for every citizen has a right to know about the affairs of his government. Let us dedicate this building to justice, and to truth, to liberty, and to righteousness, to the end that the blessings of a good municipal government shall always flow out from its portals."[4]

A bust of President Lincoln was presented to the city by Louis J. Keller. The Lincoln bust remains on display in city hall today. The current mayor at the time, Clinton Case, and some former mayors gave speeches the day of the dedication. The Kendallville News Sun reported that the city hall dedication "was a gala day and will go down in history as the best and most glorious Fourth ever recorded in the section." [5]

Today, Kendallville's City Hall remains in the same building, built in 1914. The building no longer houses the fire station but is home to the Kendallville Police Department. City Hall changed its address when the city government acquired the adjacent building, known as the city hall annex.[6] 234 S. Main St has housed thirteen mayors since 1914. The current mayor of Kendallville is Mayor Suzanne Handshoe, who has been in office since 2004. She is Kendallville's first female mayor. [7]

[1] “All Praise New City Building,” Kendallville Standard, July 11, 1907, https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=XOE35tnTnDYC&dat=19070711&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

[2] Terry Housholder, “Kendallville City Hall,” Kendallville News Sun, August 7, 2011, https://www.kpcnews.com/features/life/article_e94cd30c-c973-5a16-94e3-8bc0e9c3d40f.html.

[3] Terry Housholder, 150 Years Kendallville Indiana, 1863 – 2013 (Kendallville: KPC Media Group, 2013), 172.

[4] Housholder, 150 Years, 173.

[5] Housholder, 150 Years, 173.

[6] Housholder, “Kendallville City Hall.”

[7] Housholder, 150 Years, 203.