"Wakefield's Town Hall (pictured decorated for a Masonic party) was located at the corner of Main Street and Water Street. The gift of the land and money for the building was presented to the Town in 1868 by Cyrus and Eliza A. Wakefield. The deed for the land and building read 'a building designed for a Town House and for municipal purposes but also with the desire and intent that such portions thereof as are adapted thereto, shall be, from time to time, devoted to use for patriotic, charitable, scientific, military, literary, aesthetic, educational, moral and religious purposes, and for meetings, lectures and addresses promotive thereof - as a free and unrestricted gift to the town.' Two portraits were hung at the left and right of the stage one of George Washington and one of Cyrus Wakefield. The Washington portrait was presented in 1872 as a gift to express the townspeople's gratitude to Cyrus Wakefield for his generosity. The portrait, painted by South Reading native Thomas Badger, was a copy of an original painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796 which was said to have been in the Carlton House in London. After raising the necessary funds, the townspeople also commissioned a portrait of Cyrus Wakefield which was completed in 1783 by Thomas H. Badger, son of Thomas. The paintings were restored and repaired in 1929. A fire in the Town Hall occurred on December 13, 1950. The building was razed on October 20, 1958." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio. Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1995 Photo courtesy of Wakefield Historical Society.
