SPRING LAKE — The Spring Lake Historical Society opened an exhibit April 16 on the second floor of the Municipal Building commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Spring Lake Community House.
The exhibit, which covers the history of the Community House & Theater from 1923 to 2023, is stocked with memorabilia and historical pictures from the inside and the façade of the centenarian facility. The Community House was originally dedicated as a memorial to the young men who served in World War I, known simply as “the World War” then.
Barbara Kolarsick-Harrigan, President of the Spring Lake Historical Society, told the story of how the Spring Lake Community House & Theater came about—it started with the first Mayor of Spring Lake, Oliver H. Brown [O.H. Brown], and an idea given to him by the Women’s Club at the time.
“They didn’t have anywhere to meet at the time, so they suggested building a community house for events…O.H. Brown donated $100,000 and a plot of land worth about $40,000…Being a big patriot of Spring Lake he decided that he would donate this land and give money toward the building of it,” she said.
“To set aside his own money for the community was such a philanthropic thing to do,” Ms. Kolarsick-Harrigan said of Mayor Brown. “He was truly a lover of Spring Lake.”
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