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RAMSEY TOWN HALL, Ramsey, Minnesota. <br />Today, the building sits between a bank on its <br />north side, a day care center on its south side, <br />and paved roads on the east and west sides. <br />Originally, the schoolhouse sat on a large lot <br />with a swamp and open land in the back, and <br />an ample front yard with two large oak trees. <br />The students used to play with the toads at <br />the swamp, swing from a swing on the oak <br />trees, and get water from the water pump in <br />front of the building. <br />Figure 3 —Anoka Co Schools, No. 28 in Blue <br />Between 1943 and 1944, a local school father, <br />Mr. Pearson, oversaw what is believed to be <br />the first renovations. At this time, the original <br />plaster above the wainscoting was removed <br />from the walls and replaced with a form of <br />paper board that had vertical strips of wood <br />over the seams. <br />In 1946, the school closed and was converted <br />into a town hall. Until this time, it was <br />common that schools were used as meeting <br />places for the town board. Additionally, as <br />enrollment decreased, many one room school <br />houses in the area were closing and larger <br />schools were being built. In fact, when District <br />No. 28 School closed, it had an enrollment of <br />roughly nine students.1 <br />The conversion to a town hall brought many <br />changes to the building. On the exterior, the <br />front door was replaced, the east, north, and <br />south wall windows were replaced with <br />rectangular windows, the west wall windows <br />were bricked in with asphalt brick, asphalt <br />shingles replaced the wood shingles on the <br />roof, and a concrete belt course was added <br />around the building. On the interior, the girl's <br />coat room was turned into a small kitchen, <br />the small teacher's closet was removed, the <br />chalk boards were painted yellow, the wood <br />floor was covered with a vinyl flooring, and <br />the paper board was replaced with fiber <br />board. The building served as the Ramsey <br />Town Hall until around 1974 when a new <br />town hall was built.' <br />Figure 4 — Ramsey Town Hall 1978 <br />After being listed in the National Register of <br />Historic Places, rehabilitation of the building <br />began. Currently, the building sits vacant and <br />unfinished with several modern updates <br />throughout. <br />1 Alan Pearson and Betty Pearson, "Ramsey Town Hall / District No. 28 School," interview by Kate Stanger, November 29, 2017. <br />2 Lynne VanBrocklin Spaeth, "School District No. 28," National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form, St. Paul, November 6, 1979. <br />Ramsey Town Hall I 2 <br />