Attention stone - Former town hall Waspik

The bicycle and walking route called "On path in the historical Langstraat" passes the 24 attention stones on which (disappeared) heritage is depicted. The detailed description of all these stones can be found on this website. The attention stones are scattered in the municipality of Waalwijk: Baardwijk (4), Besoijen (4), Sprang-Capelle (3), Waalwijk center (9) and Waspik (4). The texts on the tiles were created with the help of the three local history circles 'Op 't Goede Spoor', 'Sprang-Capelle' and 'De Erstelinghe'.

The Old Council House (1938-1997)

At the head of the Kerkvaartse Haven in Waspik stood the home of notary Pieter van der Meer in 1850. A large house for that time with a barn, yard and court, in which there was "water for entertainment," a luxury few could afford. Near the house was also an orchard. After the purchase of the villa in 1878 by Willem de Roon, co-owner of the 'Hooi- en Strooperserij Vermeulen', the villa was completely renovated. The garden was redesigned, it was as large as the current park. Willem de Roon was very proud of his villa, as he even had the house depicted on the letterhead of his company.The De Roon family was very 'seen' in Waspik in those years. They were among the most important notables of the village. When this family had something to celebrate, the whole village turned out. Willem de Roon died suddenly in 1912 during a business trip in Berlin. After his death, his wife continued to live in this house until 1933. When she left, it marked the end of the presence of this distinguished family in Waspik. The villa was sold to Anton Brokx who had the house converted into a storefront residence. However, the Brokx family lived here for only a short time.

Renovation
Four years later, the city council of Waspik decided to buy this property for the sum of fl. 13,000 and rebuild it into a town hall for fl. 8,000. The space in the previous town hall was no longer adequate. Mayor P.N. Dekkers was the first mayor to get his own office. The office where the Waspik police got its office was located in an extension on the west side. The police station was moved to the Burgemeester Gescherstraat in 1982. The old office near the city hall was demolished in 1983 and then a new wing was built on the building. This new office had, for that time, a modern look and a totally different style than the former villa.
The original villa was a two-story mansion with a hipped roof and a flat roof on top. The building had corner pilasters and a circular cornice, and the facades had block plaster imitating natural stone. The beautiful balcony that graced the actual front facade on Council House Street was removed years ago. When the De Roon family lived here, around this property, both on Raadhuisstraat and Veerstraat, stood a beautiful fence with bluestone posts between them. This large wrought iron fence has been preserved and now stands, since 1938, on Spoorstraat.
Until the municipal redivision in 1997, the building continued to serve as the Waspik Town Hall. The building is called "The Old Town Hall," so there are two buildings in the Raadhuisstraat to which this predicate applies.