Risingsun Town Hall, Opera House designated historic

RISINGSUN — The Area Historical Society recently celebrated the listing of the Risingsun Town Hall and Opera House on the National Register of Historic Places. During an open house in late October, the organization unveiled a plaque that has been placed on the front of the two-story brick building at 420 Main St. The building was accepted by the U.S. Department of the Interior onto the National Register on Feb. 18, 2021, but because of a backup in the creation of plaques during the pandemic, the society only recently received it. The architect for the building, which opened in 1901 as a town hall and opera house, was Allie E. Johnson of Fremont, who worked with her father and then took over the project after his death. She was paid $100 for her services, and is noted as a female architect who designed several buildings in the area. The local contractor was Gus G. Meyers, who used local materials in construction. Historical society Treasurer Darlene Dennis was the main person behind the paperwork required to receive the listing. After retiring as a local school teacher in the early 1990s and (she) joined the historical society. "When I got in the building and looked around, I thought it needed to be the National Register and I couldn't believe it hadn't been done," she said. "It just seemed like something I needed to do." She said (she) began the original application in 2000, and it was returned with many suggestions for additions and improvement. Then, Dennis said her grandchildren began to arrive and she put the project aside until around 2015. "It was on my bucket list, so to speak, and I wasn't getting any younger," she said. She dug into history and worked with Ohio History Connection, finishing the application during the pandemic. Dennis said the "oil boom" in the late 1890s made Risingsun into a large town. "That's what actually was the beginning of putting this building here," she said. In 1895, Sun Oil Co. drilled two productive wells, which led to 1,000 people living in rooming houses and homes opening their doors to boarders. "There were 1,000 people living in four blocks in Risingsun," she said. "The rest of the homes came after that." Sandy Stephenson, president of the historical society, said there were dirt and mud roads, no running water or sewer systems and horses were used for transportation. "It's hard to wrap your thoughts around it," she said. Another reason for the growth in the area was a train depot that stopped in Risingsun three time every day around 1900. "(The train) ran 123 miles through the Hocking Valley coal fields to Toledo every day," Dennis said. Local people would take the train to Toledo or to Fostoria to have dinner or to shop. In 1900, she said elected officials agreed to purchase the lot for the new building, and money for construction came from land use leases for oil wells and from the workers. When that many men had time for recreation, there was misconduct. And they paid their fines to the town. The building opened with town offices on the first floor and the opera house on the second floor. The lobby flanked by staircases on each side leading to the opera house remain intact. It has the original wainscoting, woodwork, window and door surround and steps leading to the second floor. The opera house with its balcony and backstage areas remain much as they were when the building opened. Most of the original elements remain, except the door to the present village clerk's office, which was replaced in 2020 with a fortified door for security purposes. A ticket booth has been added to the lobby, which came from an old post office that was torn down when a new one was built in 1975. In ensuing years, the first floor of the building has been used for village offices, police and fire departments. In the mid-1970s, the former courtroom of the building was converted to village council's meeting room. The jail was removed and the town hall was changed in 1960 to accommodate an addition to the building for the fire department. On the second floor is a foyer that leads to the opera house with a balcony and sloping floor with 300 original theater seats in three sections with two aisles. In 1974, town resident Laurel Onsel painted a scene on the canvas curtain with the date when the Town Hall and Opera House was built. The walls of the dressing rooms have not been painted because there are signatures of early entertainers written on them. One of the notable people who performed on the stage was silent movie actress Lillian Gish, who performed in what may have been her first time on stage, Dennis said. "One place I read she was 5 or 6 and other place said she was 9 years old," Dennis said. Gish's mother performed in a traveling show "and they came here to put it on," she said. "They needed a child and she became the child in that play." In addition to traveling shows, the opera house hosted such entertainment as silent movies, medicine shows, ladies' and men's bands, comedians and jugglers. "They would stay with local people because there weren't hotels then," she said. "Not in Risingsun." She said the opera house charged the shows $5 per day, which paid for lighting, heat and janitor services. In 1974, the historical society formed and group members started cleaning up. "That's when the opera house was cleaned up and put back into use," Dennis said. It had fallen out of use between 1939 and 1974 because the high school got its own auditorium. In the past, the opera house hosted plays, graduations, concerts and similar events. Today, the society has a room in the town hall where it collects Risingsun memorabilia and museum pieces such as items from performances and school-related memories. The society welcomes new members who live in or around Risingsun, or those who grew up in the area or have interest. Future plans are to continue to restore and preserve the landmark. "It's a wonderful feeling to know there's been people who wanted to see it preserved," Stephenson said. "We're doing our part now and I hope 50 years from now another generation will be continuing to carry it on." For more information, call Stephenson at 419-575-2900.