USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Lancaster > History of the town of Lancaster, Massachusetts : from the first settlement to the present time, 1643-1879 > Part 44
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At a meeting held February 2, 1855, it was moved that the price of shares should be twelve dollars, paid at one time, or in successive yearly subscriptions. Proprietors of more shares than one, should have a vote for each share, not exceeding three ; but no member could vote while indebted for assess- ments or fines. At a meeting in November, 1856, these propositions were adopted, with the addition that transient readers might take books at twenty-five cents per quarter. Subsequently the price was put at fifty cents, and Saturday afternoon was fixed as the time for taking out books. Three dollars was the assessment for 1857.
551
EFFORTS FOR A PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The farther history of the Library Club need not be given in detail. A few items will be of interest. By a report made in 1859, it appears that four persons owned one share each, and thirteen owned two shares. A valuable book-case was given by Mr. Bartol.
The question of giving the library to the town was mooted at a meeting, November 26, 1860, and referred to the book committee to consider and report. The number of volumes in the library now amounted to five hundred and fifty-three. The committee to whom the matter of donating the library to the town was referred, reported to the Club, at the annual meeting in 1861, that they "had not thoroughly considered the subject, but their impression " was that the time was not favorable, owing to the " distracted condition of the public mind and the probable increase of taxes."
The subject was before the Club at an adjourned meeting, January 1, 1862. It appears that the Agricultural Library Association had sent the Club a vote purporting that they viewed with " favor the proposition to grant to the town the use and care of the two libraries, on proper and suitable con- ditions, to be made the basis for a future town library." After a general discussion of the subject, the following action was unanimously taken. "The proprietors of Lancaster Library believing that a public library in the town, to which all can have access, would greatly aid the cause of education and good morals, by affording to the young, innocent and profitable reading, and to all the means of knowledge and mental im- provement, desire to aid in the establishment of such an in- stitution. They therefore offer to the town their library of more than six hundred volumes, on condition that the town will this year appropriate, as a foundation for a public town Library, the sum of one dollar for each of its ratable polls, and thereafter annually for three years appropriate the sum of fifty cents on each of its ratable polls, for its increase." Those present to vote were Henry Wilder, at whose house the meeting was held, G. M. Bartol, Dr. Thompson, F. F.
.
552
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
Hussey, Mrs. H. L. Thurston, Miss M. A. Thayer, Miss Mary G. Chandler, Mrs. Emily Leighton and H. C. Kimball. Mr. Wilder was charged with the business of bringing the proposal before the town at the ensuing March meeting, and Mr. Kimball was requested to procure the signatures of the proprietors to the proposal. The action of the town was in accordance with the proposal. The last meeting of the Library Club was held, August 16, when Dr. Thompson was chosen secretary in place of Mr. Kimball, who had left the town. It was stated that the town, at a legal meeting in April, had accepted the offer made by the Club. A report was made, showing that the sum of $12.10 was in the treasury, when it was " voted that the members of the Library Club hereby make over such funds as now remain in the treasury, to the library committee of the Lancaster Town Library, to be used by them for the benefit of said library ; but the members of the Club would prefer that such funds should be expended in furnishing cases for minerals." The last clause of this vote, reveals the fact that a Natural History department of the Library Club had engaged the attention of the members, and some collections had already been made.
The Records of the Club were then, by vote, passed into the custody of the librarian of the town library, when the following vote closed forever the active life of the Lancaster Library Club. "Voted, that as the town has accepted the offer and conditions of the Club, we do now adjourn to such time as we shall be called to meet by the officers of the Club."
THE LANCASTER TOWN LIBRARY.
The establishment of a public library for the free use of all the inhabitants of the town, was brought forward in the annual meeting, March 3, 1862, by an article in the warrant. The subject was referred to the following gentlemen. Rev. George M. Bartol, Rev. Amos E. Lawrence, Mr. M. C. Steb- bins, Rev. Jonathan E. Edwards and Henry Wilder, Esq. At an adjourned meeting, April 2, the committee reported
553
TOWN LIBRARY ESTABLISHED.
in favor of founding a library on the " conditions offered by the Lancaster Library Club," and also presented a series of rules and regulations. The report was adopted in full, and the following were chosen the first library committee. George M. Bartol, A. E. Lawrence, Jonathan E. Edwards, M. C. Stebbins, Quincy Whitney, J. L. S. Thompson and Henry Wilder. Thanks were given to the Library Club for their valuable donation.
It is pertinent to state that public attention had been called to this subject, by the school committee for the year 1860-61, Messrs. Bartol, Kimball and Silas Thurston. In their annual report, it was stated that the law authorized towns to tax their inhabitants "for a public library, for a library building, for library books, or for anything pertaining to a library." This law was secured by the judicious action of Rev. John B. Wight, a member of the legislature from Wayland, in 1851. The act was amended in 1859, and has been followed by the establishment of many libraries in the towns and cities of the commonwealth.
The town library had thus a vigorous start. With more than a thousand volumes from the Club, with one hundred and thirty from the Agricultural Library, and with many more from the district libraries, it formed at once, a large col- lection of books for an inland and agricultural town. Some of the volumes were duplicates, as the school libraries were much alike, but these made the basis for exchange with other libraries, and therefore were a real gain to the central library. Altogether there were not less than twelve hundred volumes in the collection, when it was opened to the free use of the public, on the fourth of October, 1862. The books were of a better class and higher order than are generally found in miscellaneous collections, as has been already shown in noti- cing the additions from year to year. The committee always had competent judges of books among its members, and they exercised their judgment, with due respect to the popular de- mand for light reading and ephemeral productions. The in-
554
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
come, the first year, was not far from three hundred dollars, a much larger sum than had ever before been devoted to the replenishing of libraries in this town.
In 1863 there was some change in the library committee, Rev. Messrs. Edwards and Whitney having removed. Their places were filled by the election of Spencer R. Merrick and C. W. Burbank. The next year the last two members were succeeded by Rev. Benjamin Whittemore and Rev. Marcus Ames. In 1865 William A. Kilbourn took the place of Mr. Stebbins, who had closed his school, and entered on the work of the ministry at Ayer, then Groton Junction.
The year 1866 was a golden year in the history of the li- · brary. The town received, through Rev. Mr. Bartol, a com- munication from Nathaniel Thayer, Esq., offering $5,000 for a library, and $3,000 for the cemeteries, to be used in keep- ing them in order. At this time the town was interested in the setting up of some suitable Memorial or Monument, in honorable memory of her soldiers who went into the war for the suppression of the rebellion. The favorite plan here, as in other towns, was a monument simply, inscribed with the names of those who fell in the war, whether from wounds, sickness or imprisonment. At the April meeting a vote was passed that the town would give $5,000 for the erection of a Memorial Hall, provided a like sum could be raised by sub- scription. Jacob Fisher, Anthony Lane and George Cum- mings were chosen a committee to receive such sums as the citizens might be inclined to give. The proposition met such a favorable response that the chairman reported to the town, June 30, a subscription of over $4,000, which had been pro- cured without effort. There was no doubt that the whole sum of $5,000 could easily be raised.
A committee of seven was chosen, November 7, to have charge of the location, of building, and erection of the hall. These were the committee : Nathaniel Thayer, George M. Bartol, Jacob Fisher, F. B. Fay, Henry Wilder, J. L. S. Thompson and Quincy Whitney. Col. Fay declining, the va-
555
MEMORIAL HALL.
cancy was filled by the choice of E. M. Fuller. The select- men for the year,- Messrs. Buttrick, Merrick and Farwell were added. Besides the $10,000 thus raised, the committee were authorized by Mr. Thayer, who paid a large part of the tax, to expend all that was necessary to make the memorial hall worthy of its object, and an ornament and blessing to the town.
The committee to whom the whole subject had been refer- red, made a report which was unanimously adopted by the town. In the words of the "Report on the town library," made in 1869, by Mr. Bartol, chairman, the vote included three points : "to erect a Memorial Hall; 1st, as being as worthy of the town and of the object as any other monument ; 2d, because, owing to the munificence of a well-known and ever to be honored townsman, to do this would not carry us beyond our means ; and for the third reason, that the town was in great need, not only of a fire-proof room for its Rec- ords, but also of accommodation for a rapidly increasing town library ; the rooms which the latter then occupied threatening to prove in a few years too narrow." The Report continues : " the building is not only correct in style, but accords with its surroundings, and is very much to the credit of its archi- tect, Mr. Harris. It is unusually compact and convenient and tasteful, and it is difficult to conceive how its main purpose could have been made more prominent."
The cost of the building was nearly $30,000, of which more than two-thirds was paid by Mr. Thayer, in addition to his endowment of $5,000 for the purchase of books. The Report above quoted says farther : "that the Hon. Francis B. Fay, in addition to his original subscription of $1,000, has placed in our hands $100, for the purchase of a clock ; and also that George A. Parker, Esq., with a truly enlightened view of the possibilities of such an institution, has presented us with $500 worth of fine art works selected by himself, and also with seven hundred dollars for the further increase of such a de- partment, outright, or in permanency, at discretion of the committee."
556
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
The letter of Mr. Thayer making a permanent endowment of the library, and also providing for the care of the ceme- teries of the town, finds its place in this connection. It was dated Boston, January 22, 1866, and addressed to Rev. Mr. Bartol, in the words following.
" DEAR SIR : You have often spoken of the great good you considered the town library was doing, and the pleasure which its very general influence gave you. I do not see any way in which any one can more certainly promote the well being of the town, than by helping to increase its means of usefulness.
" And I hereby authorize you to offer to the town of Lan- caster, as trustees, five thousand dollars, say 5,000$ New York Central railroad bonds, payable in 1883, with interest payable half yearly, in May and November, upon the follow- ing conditions, viz., the town treasurer shall hold the said bonds, or invest any money received on account of the prin- cipal as a permanent fund, the interest of which he shall pay over as received, to the library committee, to be by them ex- pended in the purchase of books. And the town shall further agree to raise by tax each year for the library, the amount authorized by law of the state.
" You have often spoken upon another subject, the condi- · tion of the burying grounds, and I have mentioned to you the great pleasure it has recently given me to see the general interest manifested in regard to the burying ground near my house, and the respect shown for the memory of past gener- ations. I do hope that for the future all the burying grounds may be kept in a condition which will be creditable to the town; and in furtherance of that object, I hereby authorize you to offer to the town as trustees, three thousand dollars, say 3,000$ New York Central railroad bonds upon the follow- ing conditions, viz., the town treasurer shall hold said bonds, or invest any money received on account of the principal of said bonds, as permanent funds, and shall pay over the interest as received, to the library committee, to be expended by them in ornamenting and keeping in repair the several burying grounds in the town.
-OF- INTERIOR. IST. FLOOR.
LIBRARY.
HALL
LIBN'S
RECORD ROOM.
ROOM.
VESTIBULE
DIMENSIONS.
WALLS 36% *56% Ft. LIBRARY 34 × 34 . LIBN'8, R. 13 × 19 · RECORD R. 16 × 13
=
ERECTED
emick
DEL.
-
MEMORIAL HALL.
TING G
557
DEDICATORY SERVICES.
" Upon being furnished with an attested copy of a vote of the town, agreeing with me, my heirs and assigns, that they will receive the money and forever hold it in trust, upon the foregoing conditions, I will at once pay over the eight thou- sand dollars of bonds to the town treasurer, and I know of no better security."
The letter having been laid before the town, soon after its date, the following action was taken. " We hereby, as citi- zens of the town, legally assembled to act upon his proposi- tion, accept the same with sincere and hearty gratitude, and strictly upon the conditions he has specified in his letter."
The building was erected in 1867, and finished in the spring of the following year. Appropriate dedicatory services were held on Wednesday, June 17, 1868, Nathaniel Thayer, Esq., presiding. The following was the order of exercises, with a statement by the executive committee, and music by the band. Reading of Scriptures, by Rev. George R. Leavitt; Dedi- catory Prayer, by Rev. George M. Bartol ; Address, by Rev. Christopher T. Thayer, of Boston ; Ode, by H. F. Buswell, Esq., of Canton ; Prayer and Benediction, by Rev. Dr. Whittemore. The address was elegantly printed, and will be read with interest in after times. The two objects of the memorial hall were presented at length. The first was "to dedicate a suitable and grateful memorial of brave fellow-citi- zens, who at their country's call, and in the ardor of patri- otic impulse, went forth, life in hand, ready to peril life and all they held dear on earth, to do and die, and actually did lay down their own lives for the saving of that of the nation." Then followed a lengthened reference to the military history of the town, and especially the part taken in the war for sup- pressing the rebellion.
The second object of the building was to "enlighten, en- large, fructify and imbue with just, generous and elevated sentiments and aspirations our own and others' minds." The influence of letters and libraries was the theme of the orator in the remainder of the address. A great assembly were
558
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
deeply interested in the services, and in the occasion which called them together.
Some account of the hall should be put on permanent rec- ord. The following is gathered from a statement prepared by William E. Parkhurst, Esq., and printed in the Clinton Courant of June 20, 1868.
"The two-fold design of the building-as a library and as a memorial hall -everywhere appears. The main hall is constructed in the form of an octagon, the distance from side to side being 34 feet. The height from the floor to the sky- light is 26 feet. Directly in front of the entrance door, and on the farther side of the room, is a large marble tablet, bearing the names of the soldiers, citizens, or natives of the town who died in the war, arranged in the order of date of decease, with age. Upon the upper part of the tablet appears the following : -
THAT OUR POSTERITY MAY ALSO KNOW THEM, AND THE CHILDREN THAT ARE YET UNBORN.
The names of the deceased soldiers, not only of those there inscribed, but of those who have since died, and also of all who represented the town in the war, will be found on other pages of this history.
The building is situated in the rear of the Center Com- mon. " The style is classic, of the so-called Renaissance ; the material being granite, brown freestone and brick. Di- mensions : 56} by 362 feet. Inside, the walls and ceilings are frescoed in the highest style of the art, by Brazier.
" Immediately above the porch, and architectually connected with it, is a recessed panel or niche of freestone, bearing in bas-relief an urn surrounded by a wreath of oak-leaves, dra- ped in mourning, and resting upon a pedestal of bound staves, representing the Union intact. On the pedestal appears the national coat of arms, and against it lean a musket and sword."
The entry bears on either wall a marble tablet ; that on the right thus inscribed : -
559
INSCRIPTIONS.
1653-1868. THIS EDIFICE,
TO THE SOLE HONOR AND MEMORY, UNDER GOD, OF THOSE BRAVE AND LOYAL VOLUNTEERS, NATIVE OR RESIDENT OF LANCASTER, WHO FELL MAINTAINING THE NATION'S CAUSE IN THE BATTLES OF THE GREAT REBELLION,
IS ERECTED ON THE VERGE OF A FIELD . LONG USED BY THE INHABITANTS AS A MILITARY MUSTER- GROUND,
AND NEAR THE FOURTH [FIFTH] BUILDING OF THE TOWN'S FIRST CHURCH, INSTITUTED 1653, [1660].
" The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away ; but the word of the Lord endureth forever."
WITHIN ITS WALLS THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE TOWN, WASTED BY FIRE AND) OTHER ACCIDENTS, AND ALSO THE TOWN'S LIBRARY, FOUNDED IN 1862, ARE NOW MORE SAFELY THAN HERETOFORE DEPOSITED.
" Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen wa- keth but in vain."
The tablet on the left has this inscription : -
" The memorial of virtue is immortal. When it is present, men take example at it ; and when it is gone, they desire it."
THIS BUILDING, BEGUN AND COMPLETED A. D. 1867-8, IS DEDICATED, BY THEIR FELLOW-CITIZENS,
TO THE SACRED MEMORY OF THOSE MEN OF LANCASTER WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THE REPUBLIC IN THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865.
WE CAN NEVER BE DEATHLESS TILL WE DIE. IT IS THE DEAD WIN BATTLES - NO : THE BRAVE DIE NEVER. BEING DEATHLESS, THEY BUT CHANGE THEIR COUNTRY'S VOWS FOR MORE, -THEIR COUNTRY'S HEART.
560
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
Since the library was transferred to the memorial hall, it has been greatly increased in number and value. The whole amount expended in 1868, including a sum raised by public entertainments, was $578. The number of volumes purchas- ed was 300, and the number received by donation, 554. The whole number of volumes in the library in the spring of 1869, was 4,051.
The income in the year 1869-70 was $780, including a town grant of $300; interest of Thayer fund, $280, and do- nation of George A. Parker, $200. There was a balance in the treasury raised by fairs, which enlarged the amount to over $900. The number of volumes was now 4,983. By purchase during the year, 380 were added, and 572 by donation. These last, with few exceptions, were the gift of Mr. Thayer, to the value of $1,200, and from an unexpended principal and inter- est of $500 deposited by Mr. Parker, and $200 afterwards added. Among the works selected by these gentlemen were the " most valuable books in the market, whether for standard merit or beautiful illustration."
At the annual meeting in 1870 the town raised $1,000 for the library, and this has been the annual appropriation to the present time. To this sum the dog tax has been added a few years past, making an addition of nearly two hundred dol- lars. The library in the spring of 1871 numbered 5,667 volumes. During the year " six hundred and eighty-cight dollars worth of costly and valuable books " were received from Mr. Thayer, including a complete set of the " Colum- bian Centinel " in fine condition.
The annual report dated April, 1872, gave 6,306 as the number of volumes in the library, showing an addition of 645 in the year preceding. Among the books added of per- manent value were the Harleian Miscellany, Baine's History and Antiquities of Lancashire, and Gregson's Portfolio of Fragments ; the photo-lithographed first folio of Shakespeare, Parker's Glossary of Architecture, and History of Early English , Domestic Architecture, Fergusson's History of
561
ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY.
Architecture, Perkins' Tuscan Sculptors, Lubke's History of Ancient Art, and Harding's Selected Sketches. Costly works on Natural History were in the library.
The additions in 1872-3 were 638, and the whole library contained 6,943 volumes. The library had been open re- turning and taking books, and for a reading room, in the after- noon or evening of every day except Friday and Sunday.
The year closing in the spring of 1874 was signalled by large and valuable additions. The new books were 499, most- ly by purchase. Among them were the French Etching Club, one large volume in sheets, $50 ; Roberts' Egypt and the Holy Land, four splendid volumes with colored lithographs, $200; the entire series of the London Illustrated News to 1873. The number of volumes taken out during the year was 8,457, being 896 over the year preceding, showing a remarkable increase in the love of reading.
By the first of February, 1875, the library had accumulated 8,525 volumes, showing an increase of 780 during the year. The number loaned was 9,521. A bequest of $100, made by MISS MARY WHITNEY, for the improvement of the library, was received from the executor of her will, and placed in the town treasury.
The next year, 1875-6, carried the library up to 9,217 vol- umes, (including 479 duplicates, ) and 2,923 pamphlets. Some of the duplicates have since been exchanged. Only two vol- umes were lost during the year. Many had been covered anew, and some re-bound. The number of volumes added, by pur- chase and donation, in 1876-7,was 503, making 9,720 in all. The report at the end of the year 1877-8, in March, gives the whole number of bound volumes in the library as 10,- 569 ; the number of pamphlets, 3,578.
The first catalogue was printed in 1868, after the town li- brary had been founded. It was a classified catalogue, and contained about four thousand volumes. The Card catalogue was made in 1872-3 and has been enlarged as books have been added. In the spring of 1877 a new catalogue, in the
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of
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f
562
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
alphabetical form was published, making a volume of one hundred and sixty-eight pages. The work upon this and the Card catalogue, was chiefly done by Miss Alice Chandler, the librarian, assisted by Miss Anna H. Whitney. The number of volumes in the library in March, 1878, was 10,569, besides 3,578 pamphlets.
The following gentlemen have been members of the com- mittee since the public library was founded. The figures in- dicate the years in which they have served. A dash follow- ing the year shows that the member is still in office.
Rev. George M. Bartol, 1862 -. Henry Wilder, 1862- 76, with the exception of one year. He was a man of much in- telligence and public spirit, and gave time and interest to the library and natural history room without grudging. J. L. S. Thompson, M. D., from 1862 to 1878, with the excep- tion of one year. He was one of the original members, and performed the duties of librarian for many years, as he had previously done for the Club. His presence has secured the addition of many scientific works. He, with Messrs. Wilder and Bartol, has always taken a deep interest in the natural history department.
Rev. Amos E. Lawrence, 1862-5 Rev. Jonathan E. Edwards, 1862,
Rev. M. C. Stebbins, 1862-4
1866-68
Spencer R. Merrick, 1863
Rev. Quincy Whitney, 1862-3
Rev. Dr. Whittemore, 1864,7 C. W. Burbank, 1863
William A. Kilbourn, 1865-72 Rev. Marcus Ames, 1864-7
Edward M. Fuller, 1868 William H. McNeil, 1868-73
J. D. Butler, 1871-2
Henry C. Kendrick, 1871-3
F. H. Thompson, M.D., 1873-5 Rev. A. P. Marvin, 1873-
G. F. Chandler, 1874- Nathaniel Thayer, Esq., 1873-4
Miss Anna H. Whitney. 1875- Horatio D. Humphrey, 1874-
Henry Nourse, 1878-
Miss Charlotte Fisher, 1876-
Mr. McNeil was librarian in the year 1872, succeeding Dr. Thompson, but Miss Alice Chandler, assistant, had the care of the library. Since that year she has been the librarian, having the assistance of Miss Mary E. Fisher, and Miss Belle Lyman.
563
LETTER OF GEORGE BANCROFT.
The two following documents explain themselves, and fur- nish a most pleasant close to this chapter. The first is a let- ter to the selectmen of the town, dated Newport, September 20,1878.
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