The Ramona Town Hall

The Ramona Town Hall was donated to the town people of what was then Nuevo on Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1894, by Augustus and Martha Barnett. Construction on the two story edifice began on July 11, 1893 on two lots donated by realtor Milton Santee, and was completed in February 1894 at a cost of $17,000. (Later that year, at the insistence of Mr. Santee, the town was renamed Ramona, to capitalize on the popularity of the fictional character from the best seller by Helen Hunt Jackson.) The Barnett's established an unpaid five member board of trustees in perpetuity to administer the operation and upkeep of the Town Hall. For over 120 years, the Ramona Town Hall has operated solely on private donations, fundraisers, grant moneys, and rent collected for use of the building. The Ramona Town Hall is not owned by the Town Hall Board of Trustees, nor is it a public agency.