Captain Samuel Watts built and donated Watts Hall to the people of Thomaston. In June 1915, a terrible fire broke out in the livery stable behind the building, causing the entire block to burn to the ground. Among the greatest losses were the archives of The Recorder, the Thomaston newspaper, which dated back to the early 1800s; Congressman Jonathan Cilley had served as its editor from 1825 to 1828. Mary Jane Watts, Samuel Watts's daughter, had the building rebuilt in memory of her father and presented it to the town. Its second floor houses a large auditorium and stage that are used by theater groups, for town meetings, and for other functions throughout the year. In a street scene from the 1870s, the original Knox Hotel can be seen with its distinctive pillars, and Watts Hall had not yet been built.