The town hall played an important role in everyday community life as a site for heated debates and rowdy dances. It served as a base for local government, providing public assembly space to vote and discuss important issues of the day. It was also a center of cultural life, hosting concerts, dances, banquets, and lectures. Town halls engaged and united the communities they supported. Built in 1863, Stubbs Bay Town Hall was originally located in Orono, Minnesota. In rural communities that did not yet have a library building, the town hall often served as a public reading room.