Haverstraw King's Daughters Public Library facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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King's Daughters Public Library
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South elevation and stone wall, 2008
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| Location | Haverstraw, NY |
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| Nearest city | Peekskill |
| Built | 1903 |
| Architect | William Parkton |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival, Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 91000950 |
| Added to NRHP | 1991 |
The Haverstraw King's Daughters Public Library is a special old building in Haverstraw, New York. It's located at Main and Allison streets. This red brick building is also known as the Fowler Library Building.
The library itself is very old! It was started in the late 1800s. It is the oldest public library in Rockland County to get an official "charter" (like a special permission document). Soon after it began, the library moved into this building. Money for the building was raised by a women's group called the King's Daughters.
The building mixes two popular styles from that time: Renaissance Revival and Classical Revival. In 1983, a similar new section was added. In 1991, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical site.
At the end of the 20th century, the library moved its main services to a new building. The old building was carefully fixed up in the mid-2000s. It still serves as a smaller branch of the library today.
The Library Building
The library sits on a small piece of land at a street corner. It is across from the post office. A stone wall made of granite runs along the south side. This wall is original to the building and is part of its historic importance. The land gently slopes down towards the Hudson River, which is nearby. Most of the buildings around the library are homes.
Outside the Library
The main part of the building has two stories and is shaped like a rectangle. Its corner on the southeast side is rounded. You can see the basement, and the roof is flat. The red bricks are decorated with different types of stone. There's a bluestone base, sandstone blocks at the corners (called quoins), and limestone supports (brackets) under the roof's edge. The roof is covered in asphalt. A brick chimney with a fancy top sticks up from the middle of the west side.
Below the roof's edge, there's a limestone band called a frieze. It has carvings of garlands (like decorative ropes of flowers). On the south side, it says "FOWLER LIBRARY BUILDING" in big letters. The building has large arched windows in its reading rooms. The adult reading room is on the first floor on the east side. The children's reading room is on the second floor on the south side.
The main entrance is on the rounded corner and also has an arched window above it. All these arched windows have special wedge-shaped stones called voussoirs. The tall, thin dividers in the reading room windows look like Ionic columns.
The north side of the building has windows that are not perfectly even. It also has a part that sticks out. On the west side, a new section was added in 1983. It matches the old building well. This new part is also brick with a flat asphalt roof and a simple limestone edge.
Two decorative iron gates protect the main entrance. Behind them, four bluestone steps lead up to a small entry area called a vestibule. This area has a tiled floor. The oak doors have windows on the sides. Inside, another vestibule has similar wood panels. A bronze plaque tells about the library's opening on May 14, 1903. It also lists the main donor and the names of the society's leaders at that time.
Inside the Library
The inside of both floors still looks much like it did originally. Many of the original decorations are still there. Both the adult rooms downstairs and the children's rooms upstairs have fireplaces. These fireplaces have shiny brick, floors that look like marble, and carved wooden mantels. They also have mirrors with slanted edges.
The main staircase is made of oak wood panels. It has ash wood railings and newel posts (the main posts at the ends of the railing) topped with carved urns. The floors, decorative moldings, and plaster walls are all original. Most of the bookshelves and other furniture are also from when the library first opened.
On the west wall, you can still see the original brick and stone around the windows from the new section. The original plaster is on the other side. In the basement, there's a brick floor set in dirt. People believe this floor might be from an old hotel that was on this spot before the library was built.
How the Library Started
Haverstraw became an official village in 1854. It grew quickly because of a successful brick-making industry. This industry used the large clay deposits found along the river. In 1891, a group of wives of wealthy businessmen in Haverstraw started a group called the Haverstraw Ladies' Home Mission Circle.
At first, this group was a sewing circle that helped people in the village who needed it. But they soon realized they could do more. In 1894, they planned a bigger organization. The next year, it officially became the King's Daughters Society.
That same year, the society's president suggested they start a public library. Creating libraries was a popular way for groups to help their communities back then. The members agreed and asked the New York State Board of Regents for a special permission document, a "charter." Their request was approved. Melvil Dewey, who was in charge of the New York State Library at the time, signed the charter. This made the new library the oldest public library in Rockland County to have an official charter.
In 1896, the library opened in Jenkins Hall, which was west of the current building. Two years later, it moved to the National Bank Building. Soon, the library became so popular that it needed its own building. In 1899, a local brickmaker named Denton Fowler offered to donate $10,000. This money was for buying land and building a library named after him. He said he would donate the money if the society could raise the same amount.
Nothing happened for three years because the society couldn't raise the extra money. They decided to build a smaller building instead. Two members were able to raise the money needed for this smaller plan. Construction began in October 1902, and the library opened seven months later.
William H. Parkton, a local architect, designed the library. He had designed many buildings in downtown Haverstraw. He combined elements from different styles. For example, he used wide friezes, quoins, and pilasters from the Classical Revival style. He also included round-arched windows, detailed cornices, and rough-cut stonework from the Renaissance Revival style.
In 1956, a fire badly damaged the upper floor. The building was repaired, but all the books and materials were lost.
The area continued to grow. In 1978, a branch library was opened in Thiells. This branch was in a storefront and served people in other parts of the Town of Haverstraw. That same year, the state gave the library a new charter. This charter made it a special library district. This meant residents could vote on the library's budget and choose people to be on its board. The Thiells branch soon moved to the basement of the Town Hall.
In 1983, money from the state and federal government helped the library add the west wing to the Fowler Building. This new wing was named after Kay Freeman, who was the library's director for 21 years. A rule for the federal money was that the new wing had to match the style of the old building. The outside of the original building was also fixed up during this construction. A ramp for wheelchairs was added too.
Three years later, the library started looking for land for new facilities. This search took almost ten years. During this time, the original building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1993, it received an award from the county historical society for still being used.
In 2001, the Town Board approved a plan for land on Rosman Road. This allowed the library to build a new main branch in Garnerville. Construction started later that year, and the new library opened in 2003. Three years later, the library board closed the Fowler building to fix up its inside. It reopened in 2007.
