By Kristine Kern
Review Staff Writer
The Ellsworth City Hall building may not have been on the National Register of Historical Places but in the hearts and memories of any Ellsworth native the memories are of historical value. Following the fire that destroyed the building on January 15, 2019 Ellsworth residents young and old have been sharing their memories of this building from playing basketball there, playing bingo upstairs, roller skating, 4-H meetings and memories of how this building played a vital role in the Ellsworth community since 1904. City Clerk Dawn Huisman shared the following on the cities Facebook page. “It breaks my heart to share these photos with you all, but many memories & stories were shared through out this day about this beautiful piece of hand -made craftsmanship. Look at the precision of the circles of bricks; the arches. So beautiful, all made with the human hand. My father-in-law, Gerald Huisman, played basketball in the second level; he also carved his name in the ancient plaster behind the stage (many, many names were carved) I’m guessing that someone in your family did the same. Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts; wedding dances; family functions; town gatherings; plays; the town jail; fire department; water department; the mural curtain; Veterans & Auxiliary; Santa Claus to name a few.” Ellsworth Mayor Tasha Domeyer stated on Friday. “This is why it is great to live in a small community, we all come together just like one big family. We just get her done.” A few shares on Facebook included from Jim Lovrien “ I remember playing basketball there many, many years ago……it was certainly a community “treasure!” Nancy Lovrien Huisman shared, “I remember going up those steep steep stairs to play bingo” and from Margaret Schurr “A building that held many memories for a lot of different-aged people.”
The fire was discovered around 6 a.m. on Tuesday as an Ellsworth resident on his way to work noticed water streaming out of the building, a city employee was called and the fire was discovered at the back of the building. The fire departments from Magnolia, Adrian, Luverne, Rushmore, Lismore, George, Little Rock and Rock Rapids were on site aiding the Ellsworth Fire Department with personnel and water trucks. Water trucks travelled to Adrian and Little Rock for water because the Ellsworth Fire Department water station was located at the back of city hall. Mayor Domeyer wasn’t sure how much water was shipped in but said what that the Luverne Fire Department said that the amount that went through their ladder truck was astounding, she stated, “I can’t give you the exact amount, a lot of information has come through us in a short amount of time but it was a huge amount.” Highway 91 was closed through Ellsworth. Henning Construction from Adrian was called in to knock holes in the building to help the fire fighters get water into the inside of the building. Fear that the building would fall into the water tower prompted them to have Henning Construction begin knocking the back of the building in as the fire fighters continued to work. The aiding departments left by early afternoon but the Ellsworth Fire Department monitored the building throughout the demolition and night into Wednesday as occasional flare ups occurred. Highway 91 was re-opened in Ellsworth Wednesday morning. Henning Construction has begun to take some of the rubble out as cleanup begins but Mayor Domeyer noted on Friday that with a couple of weather systems with snow and wind coming through on the weekend and into the early part of the week, they were predicting that cleanup is going to be delayed a bit. Cause of the fire is still unknown and the Fire Marshall is still looking at it.
Quick thinking on the part of the Ellsworth Fire Department and city employees had them enter the building Tuesday morning long enough to take out the city clerks computer and hard drives as well as some filing cabinets. When asked about whether anything was salvageable Mayor Domeyer did say they are pulling as many bricks out as possible to hopefully incorporate into the new building. She shared that as they were taking a break from the demolition some of them were standing with the Henning crew and firemen discussing how they would like to find the towns seal, they were describing the seal so everyone could keep an eye out for it, it is about a foot tall and 8” wide. Tasha said Brent Henning pulled something off the top of a pile asking “like this” and she said “there it was right on top!” They were able to save half of the nameplate at the top of the building and are still hopeful that they will find a timecapsule that was in the southwest corner of the building, placed there when the building was built in 1904. The city spoke with their insurance company and are in process of replacing the computer monitors and office equipment lost in the fire. They are hopeful that the city clerks office will be up and running in their temporary office in the Presbyterian Church. For now the community is thankful for each piece of history that is recovered from the rubble or memories shared on the street or Facebook. Neighboring communities are eager to step in and help Ellsworth remember, recover and rebuild.
