The Town Hall was one of the first Town Halls, if not the first Town Hall, constructed in the Commonwealth following the public approval on 11 November 1833 by the voters of the State of a referendum to ratify the separation of church and state by amending the Article III of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Commonwealth. Prior to 1834 the Sandwich Town Meeting had met in the Congregational Meeting House located at River and Main Streets. The Sandwich Town Hall is therefore not only an architectural symbol of the roots of democracy but also the actual historical embodiment of the separation of governmental power and religious expression.
The Sandwich Town Hall reflects over 175 years of Sandwich’s history and culture as well as the larger issues of State and National life that have had an impact on the Sandwich community. The Town Hall has been in active use as the seat of Town government for every one of those 175 years. There are few towns that can make this claim. With the preservation and restoration of the building as a whole the magnificent space of the Hall will serve the public in ways that are appropriate for our own time and for a broad range of community events and meetings that can bring residents of the Town closer to each other and to the living history of the Town of Sandwich. With this in mind, please take care of this important public space!
