Scoville Library facts for kids
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Scoville Memorial Library
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | Main St., Salisbury, Connecticut |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1894 |
| Architect | Stone, Carpenter & Willson |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| Part of | Salisbury Center Historic District (ID97001115) |
| NRHP reference No. | 82004473 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 29, 1982 |
| Designated CP | September 11, 1997 |
The Scoville Memorial Library is a public library in Salisbury, Connecticut. It started in 1803 and was the first library in the United States that everyone could use for free!
You can find it at 38 Main Street. The library is in a beautiful building built in 1894. This building was given to the town by Jonathan Scoville, who was a kind person from Salisbury. The library building is so special that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Contents
How the Library Started
The idea for the library began in 1771. A man named Richard Smith, who owned a local factory, helped start a collection of books. People in the community gave money to buy 200 books from London, England.
Back then, you could borrow and return books only on the third Monday of every third month. If you damaged a book, you had to pay a fee. A common problem was "greasing" from wax dripping onto the pages. This happened when people read by candlelight.
In 1805, Caleb Bingham, who grew up in Salisbury, gave books to start the Bingham Library for Youth. Later, Miss Harriet Church also gave books to create the Church Library. Over time, all these different book collections were brought together. They were kept at the Town Hall.
Becoming a Free Public Library
On April 9, 1810, something very important happened. The town of Salisbury voted to spend $100 to buy more books for the library. This made the Scoville Memorial Library the first library in the United States that was supported by the town and free for everyone to use.
A New Home for Books
In the early 1890s, Jonathan Scoville, another Salisbury native, left $12,000 in his will for a new library building. Other members of the Scoville family also gave money. This helped pay for the new building.
The library was built using gray marble from a local quarry near Lion's Head Road. Miss Grace Scoville gave a special gift: a tower clock. This clock still chimes every 15 minutes with notes from a famous opera called Parsifal.
The first building was made to be both a library and a community center. It had a reading room with a special area for kids. There was also a place for reference books and many shelves for books. The building even had an auditorium with a piano, a stage, and a balcony. There was a kitchen downstairs to prepare snacks for events.
A very old stone carving from the 15th century was sent from Salisbury Cathedral in England. It was placed above the fireplace in the reading room, where you can still see it today.
By 1981, the library needed more space because it had so many books. A new section was built at the back of the original building. This new part made room for more books, offices, and places for community events.
What You Can Find at the Library Today
Today, the Scoville Memorial Library has over 30,000 items! This includes many different types of books, like fiction and non-fiction. They also have audiobooks, videos, and large-print books. You can find reference materials, maps, magazines, and newspapers. They even have old copies of The Lakeville Journal newspaper on microfilm.
The library also keeps special old books from its first collections. Plus, it has an archive with materials about the history of Salisbury, Lakeville, and Ore Hill. You can also find family history information and artworks, like portraits of the Scoville family.
The Scoville Memorial Library is a not-for-profit organization. It is managed by a group of trustees. Even though it serves as the town's public library, most of its money comes from private donations.
