The first Eufaula City Hall was constructed in 1925, dedicated on July 24 of that year. It was a two-story brick and stone structure, 42 feet by 55 feet, designed by Eufaula architect J.L. Lowe and built by Muskogee Construction for $5,600.

In addition to city offices the first floor of the building included “a ladies’ room, jail, fire truck room and accessories” and space for a national guard armory.

The second floor included a public hall, community room, storage room, two rooms for firemen and accessories.

Over the years the building has been renovated several times, including in 1941, according to newspaper reports and again in 1986.

The latest incarnation of city hall began shortly after Christmas in 2023 and should be completed within a few weeks.

“It’s hard to give a firm date, but I’m confident that at some point in May we will be moving in,” said City Manager Jeb Jones.

Five years ago, the historic city hall was closed for black mold remediation.

“We gutted the old building, put on a new roof and made it watertight to take care of all moisture issues. We sealed all of the exterior walls.

The city bought a building at 17 Hospital Drive for temporary offices while the city council decided whether to renovate the old building, build a new one or remain at its current location.

After a couple of years of not receiving any acceptable bids, it was determined that the most cost-effective action would be to renovate the old building, which cost $1.2 million and to sell the building on Hospital Drive.

“Work on Eufaula’s city hall is progressing nicely. The frame and brick work on the first floor will be completed this week. The building, when completed will be a beautiful structure and would be a credit to any city in Oklahoma. The contractor expects to complete his work in 60 days.”

– Eufaula Indian Journal, May 21, 1925.

“Selling it is up to the council,” Jones said. “Some people have expressed interest in it.”

He says he doesn’t think there will be any problem selling the building.

Jones said the original idea was to include renovating the armory next door to the city hall and turning it into a convention center.

“But economics prevented that,” he said.

Cunningham Construction out of Tulsa was the low bidder on the project.

“They are doing an excellent job,” Jones said.

Jones said the project has been bid on five times in the past two or three years, but all of the bids came in too high.

Cunningham was among the bidders rejected in the early stages.

Jones said after several failures to get a good bid, he put out the information that the city had a million dollar budget.

“I asked what they could give us for $1 million,” he said. Cunningham was the winner.

The city started doing some work on the building itself before the contractor began, saving on costs.

Blessed with good weather and a contractor who worked well with his subcontractors, there have been no delays.

Once the work is done, the city will begin moving in furniture.

The renovated city hall has been wired for a technical package that includes computers and phone system; a security system and an audiovisual system that will allow council meetings to be televised.

“When we move in, it will be turnkey for us,” Jones said.

He hopes to have the June 3 council meeting in the new facility, but there are no certainties at this point.

No one will recognize the renovated city hall.

The old building had 6,000 square feet of space, but only 3,000 were used.

“The area in the northeast corner of the building, which included the old jail, never got used,” Jones said.

The city is making use of all 6,000 square feet.

There is a drive-thru window for utility customers on the east side of the building; there are six or seven offices; storage rooms; a spacious lobby and more.

The council room has plenty of space for visitors and when the council calls for an executive session the council members will retire to a conference room instead of sending visitors outside to wait in the cold, heat or rain.

The contractors left some of rock walls on the interior of the building exposed, making it aesthetically pleasing.

“Those rock walls are 16 inches thick,” Jones said.

The city manager was happy the council decided to save the old city hall.

“There’s too much history to let it go.”