Old Town Hall

Town Hall’s roots go back to 1893

In the fall of 1893, the Vacaville Town Trustees went before the Solano County Board of Supervisors with a proposition to build a jail and town hall. Vacaville’s jail at the time was a small wooden building suitable only for town drunks and minor lawes were routinely transferred to the county jail in Fairfield.

Everything seemed in order at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting in March 1894 for approval of partial funding by the county of a new town hall. But the trustees were taken completely by surprise when Supervisor Corn of Vacaville objected to the project on the grounds that the town was too poor to pay its portion of the expenses. After heated debate the project was turned down.

Vacaville residents put up with the little wooden jail on the banks of Ulatis Creek in what is today Andrews Park until nocturnal visitors rolled the little building into the creek in February 1906.

On May 7, 1906, three Vacaville citizens, Frank McKevitt, J.M. Wooden and Sterling Dobbins, went before the County Board of Supervisors and argued that a new town hall was needed because Vacaville was now without a means to incarcerate lawbreakers.

Supervisors approved $3,000 with a condition that the county retain an undivided interest in the building, Vacaville was to provide a lot and initially the cost was not to exceed $4,500 overall.

After a few more changes, the Supervisors approved the plans and specifications submitted by County Surveyor Steiger on Sept. 4, 1906. A contract to build the town hall was awarded on Nov. 12, 1906 to F.M. Gray with a bid of $5,160.