 Westhoughton Town Hall
Westhoughton Town Hall, now the Area Office, was opened on 7 December 1904, after a procession from the old offices led by a joint band from members of the Wingates and Westhoughton bands. Luncheon in the assembly rooms followed, rounded off with 'Council Pudding' and a programme of entertainment featuring artistes, including Masters Tony and Terry Wilson, humorous duettists. The adjoining library and Carnegie Hall were built thanks to a grant from the Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and were opened on 24 March 1906.
The first librarian was J C Scott, who retired in 1943. He organised a regular course of lectures for many years and these met with var ying degrees of success. On the night of 7 November 1928, the lecture was by Chief Os-Ke-Non-Ton, a Red Indian Chief and Mohawk singer. In the full ceremonial costume of the tribal head, he told stories, donned the headdress of the medicine man, sang songs of the Indian on the warpath and showed how to kindle a fire by friction. |
