In 1927, the old People’s Bank building and all its fixtures were up for auction. The next mention of the building’s use was as City Hall in 1934. Elections were held there for mayor and alderman in October of that year.
In July of 1936, a large fire started in David Bingham’s cafe next door to the City Hall (old People’s Bank building). A suspected electrical appliance caused the fire. The cafe was reportedly destroyed, but the City Hall on one side and the Bell Buckle Hotel on the other, were saved.
The old bank building was put up for auction once again shortly after the fire. It was noted that a crowd of several hundred people showed up for the auction. The hotel next door was also sold at that time.
In June of 1941, in preparation for World War II, the U. S. Army used Middle Tennessee as training grounds for war maneuvers. Though nearby Tullahoma had the largest training base known as Camp Forest, there were soldiers camped out all over little Bell Buckle and throughout Bedford County.
During one of their maneuvers, an army tank driver turned to avoid crushing a farmer’s truck and accidentally crashed through the wall of the city hall. There were folks inside the building at the time, but the only person injured was the tank driver. He was wearing a helmet and only received a cut to his face from a falling brick. General George S. Patton Jr didn’t place the blame on his tank driver and was quoted as saying, “The damned city hall was not on the map!”.
After half of the building suffered a major fire and the other half suffering extensive structural damage, it’s probable that the building was razed sometime after. In the 1970s, the owner of the old hotel bought the lot where the bank building was and it has been a part of that property ever since. Most people visiting Bell Buckle today may never know that business buildings were once located in that home’s side yard. A piece of Bell Buckle’s little known history!
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