Sustaining Our Legacy: The Future of Ramsey Town Hall

Abstract

This project was completed as part of the 2017-2018 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Ramsey. Only a few of the original houses and structures built in Ramsey remain today. The most notable structure of historic significance is the Old Ramsey Town Hall/District No. 28 Schoolhouse, located west of Highway 47 just north of County Road 116, in the far southeastern corner of the city. The structure was built in 1894, and was originally used as a one-room schoolhouse. The building served as the Ramsey Town Hall government building from 1947 to 1977, when the community finally outgrew the facility. The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and underwent some renovation in 1996, but the building currently sits empty, with no plan for its future use or disposition. Students in Dr. Fernando Burga’s Land Use Planning class researched the role of the building in Ramsey's history, as well as previous renovation efforts; explored what is involved in creating a historic preservation commission to protect and preserve historic structures and landscapes; identified structural and site issues or limitations related to the building and potential adaptive reuses, and made recommendations for restoration and repair; identified potential adaptive reuses of the building in its current location; and considered the feasibility and propriety of relocating the building elsewhere in the community. The students’ final report is available.