The Book Journey

A History of Wolcott’s Town Library From 1828 to 2015

By Florence Goodman

In 1828 the first library was established in the Congregational Church

Dr. William Andrus Alcott was the Sunday School Superintendent of the church. He founded the library with a gift of 20 books for his pupils to read. The library was housed in the church and thereafter supported by the church.

1773

Who Was William Andrus Alcott?

The cousin of Amos Bronson Alcott. An educator and medical doctor. He attended the West School on Spindle Hill and later taught there. He graduated from Yale University with a medical degree. The library continued in the church until 1839.

Anti-Slavery Meeting Held at Congregational Church in 1839

Reverend Chapman was the church pastor in1839. He was a strong anti-slavery proponent, but not

everyone in the parish agreed with his ideas. He had scheduled an anti-slavery meeting in the

church on December 12th. The night before, someone placed gun powder with a

slow wick in the stove. Shortly after 9:00 p.m. an explosion was heard, but it wasn’t until after midnight that someone saw the church was in flames.

The church was reduced to ashes … gone were the books and the library housed there.

Thus… we had no library from 1839-1843.

A New Church and a New Library In 1840 the Church dissolved its relationship with Reverend Chapman. Plans for a new church began. The new Church was completed in 1843 and the library reopened with

a donation of $100 by Preserve Carter.

New Church Library

The new Church library was housed at the entrance of the Church.

Abijah Fenn House

Center School

Reverend Stephen Rogers

From 1859-1863 Stephen Rogers served as pastor of the Congregational Church.

He was a supporter of the church library.

Before he retired because of illness, he donated 133 volumes to the church library.

The 100th Anniversary of the Congregational Church Helped to Increase the Number of

Books in the Library

A two day celebration took place on September 10 and 11, 1873.

The library was expanded when town leaders, including Amos Bronson Alcott donated books.

Alcott donated works by the Concord authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Reverend George A. Furness

Reverend Furness served as pastor from 1912 to 1917.

During his pastorate he expanded the number of books in the church library and built a container to store the books.

In 1915 Beecher Memorial Hall was presented to the townspeople and given into the custody of the church.

1914 - 1924

The newly completed Beecher Memorial became the new home of the library.

The library continued to grow for ten years while it was housed in Beecher Memorial.

Library on the Move Again 1924-1957

In 1924 the library became a municipal project and was moved into the new Town Hall.

It was housed in a room off the entry way. It remained there until 1957.

I remember going into this library in the mid 1950s to borrow books. Mrs. Florence Bergen was the librarian at that time. Town Hall

In 1957 the Library Moved to… Renovations to the Town Hall In 1957 required the library to

move once more. At this time, the Center School was being used for Town Offices. The Library was now housed in the basement of the Center

School.

Another New Home from 1959 to 1970

16 months later, the town offices moved out of the Center School. In 1959 the library was moved from the basement of the Center School

to a new home upstairs. They now took over the entire building. The Center School building served as our public library from 1957 to

1970 when a new library was opened on Bound Line Road.

Development of the Library By 1966 a total of 804 new

books were purchased for the Library and many books were received as gifts from local organizations and individuals.

The Combined PTA Library Committee donated a large illuminated globe to the Library.

The PTA Library Committee later became the Friends of the Library.

Circulation climbed to a new high of 18,601 and 369 new borrowers were enrolled.

Library Outgrowing the Center School

First Selectman, Edward Bagley had the old vault emptied to add floor space to the Library.

A meeting was held with the State Librarian to discuss problems of inadequate space issues and he explained qualifications necessary for Federal Fund grants.

Library hours were increased to 32 hours per week. Mrs. Gloria D’Agostino

Library Study Committee Established Nicholas D”Agostino, Chairman John H. Washburne, Vice-Chairman Mrs. Florence Marino, Secretary Rev. Sherman Andrews David Herbst Mrs. Ann Donahue Alexander Nole Robert Ducham Richard Opper Dr. Charles C. Sasso, Jr.

In 1967-68 fiscal year a 3-member Library Building Committee was appointed by Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Reardon and confirmed by the Town Council.

Gloria D’Agostino, Chairman Robert Ducham, Treasurer Alexander Nole, Secretary.

New Library Proposed

Library Building Committee Members were as follows:Alexander Nole, Chairman Francis Byrnes John KeatingJoseph Ciarlo Mrs. Gloria Lanosa Mrs. Geraldine D. CullenMartin McCallum Gloria D’Agostino Dr. Charles C. Sasso, Jr. Robert Ducham Edson Seymour Lucian Helaire Mrs. Isabelle Way David Herbst Earl L. Wooster, Jr.

On The Move One Last Time Volunteers agreed to help move the books

from the Center Street location to the new Bound Line Road location starting on October 17, 1970.

The Center Street library closed on October 16th and the new structure opened on its formal dedication of October 25, 1970.

Alexander Nole, chairman of the building committee, stated it was, “ a dream come true.”

First Selectman, Edward Bagley, stated, “a momentous step forward in the life of the town of Wolcott.”

He also remarked that there had been controversy over the design of the building, but he believed it turned out to be a “forward looking structure” that reflected the attitudes of the townspeople.

The building budget was $375,000, but Wolcott only paid $275,000 because of a $100,000 state grant.

Finally…A NEW Library

On October 25, 1970 the new $375,000 library was dedicated.

Its modern architectural design was a unique concept. It had a capacity for 55,000 books.

First Selectman First Selectman Edward BagleyEdward Bagley

Mrs. Florence Bergen,Mrs. Florence Bergen,LibrarianLibrarian

Rev. Sherman Andrews

Linda Pierpoint

New Library Dedicated on October 25, 1970

More than 1000 residents attended the dedication. By 1972 the total number of borrowers had risen to 4,346. Library Staff: Mrs. Florence Bergen, Librarian, Mrs. Jean

Homewood, Mrs. Lorena Therkildsen Friends of Library (Formerly the Combined PTA Library

Committee)

First Mural Painted in Downstairs Meeting Room

Mural painted by Pierre Cormac de MaCarty in 1976.

Our Library Continues To Grow

Alexander Nole Youth Room was established. Murals in the Children’s Room were painted by a

local artist, Mark Kurtz.

The Alexander Nole Youth Room was named in his honor in 1994

Alex served on the Library Board for over 30 years and was chairman of the committee that oversaw the planning and construction of the new library.

Junior Women’s chose the library youth room as its special project. They raised funds for furniture, books, and cassettes for this new room. They also donated $5000 towards the development of the room by selling signed

prints, notes and post cards of the town Green by artist Tracy Sugarman.

Alex, Mary Hunt, and Margie Smith Junior Women’s Club members: Mrs. Dennis Marcoux, Mrs. Phil Culver, Mrs. David Herbst and Alex.

Still Growing

These murals were painted in the lower level meeting room by another local artist, Deborah Weik in 2004 and 2008.

And Growing …

Deborah Weik also painted this mural in 2004.

We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby!!

1828------1839--------1843-------1859--------1863---------1873----------1912------------1915--------1924---------1957---------1959------------1970Church Church New Rev. Rogers adds books 100th Anniv. Rev. Furness Move to Town Hall Center Sch Center Sch. New LibraryLibrary Burns Church/Library Alcott adds adds books Beecher Mem. Basement Upstairs Opened books

Wolcott Green 1912