History
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Constructed of handmade bricks in 1856 as the Fontenelle Bank, this building outlasted the bank’s failure during the financial Panic of 1857, when many poorly backed wildcat banks in Nebraska Territory also collapsed. In 1861, by authority of the Territorial Legislature, Sarpy County acquired it for use as the courthouse. After the county seat moved to Papillion in 1875, the city of Bellevue used the building as Town Hall until 1960, when a municipal building was completed. In 1961, Mrs. Harold D. LeMar purchased it for preservation, and in 1969 it was entered in the National Register of Historic Places. With the aid of a historic preservation grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City of Bellevue then purchased and restored it. Preserved as one of Nebraska’s earliest public buildings, it reflects the transition from frontier settlements to modern communities and stands as a tribute to the heritage of Bellevue and Nebraska.
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Bellevue, Nebraska · United States
