Dearborn Town Hall Complex / Orville L. Hubbard

This municipal building opened on June 26, 1922, as the seat of government for the village of Springwells, which became a city in 1924, and in 1925 was renamed Fordson (for Henry and Edsel Ford). After Fordson consolidated with Dearborn in 1929, this structure became the center of municipal activities for the expanded city of Dearborn. Originally the two-and-a-half-story Georgian Revival structure housed all of the city departments. Included in the complex were a police and court facility, a communications center, a fire station, and a maintenance garage. On May 23, 1981, the city dedicated a new addition, which linked the original building to the new quarters for the council chambers and the clerk’s and treasurer’s offices. The complex is now known as Town Hall. Orville L. Hubbard Orville Liscum Hubbard, LL.B. (1903-1982), was mayor of Dearborn from 1942 to 1978. Born near Union City, Hubbard enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1922. He graduated from the Detroit College of Law in 1932. Settling in Dearborn in 1929, he ran unsuccessfully for public office for ten years before becoming mayor. Often working twelve or more hours a day, Hubbard was an effective administrator who paid close attention to small details and the public’s opinion. He made Dearborn known for punctual trash collection, speedy snow removal, Florida retirement facilities, and a free recreational area, Camp Dearborn. Hubbard died in 1982, almost five years after his fifteenth term as Dearborn’s mayor. At the time of his death, his administration was noted as having been one of the longest of any full-time U.S. mayor.