USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume II > Part 6
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The history of the various public libraries of the county is very similar. Generally there was an initial gift by one or more public- spirited citizens ; occasionally the books of an old "Social" or "Philo- sophical" library were the foundation of the new collection. For instance, the Haverhill Public Library, the largest library in the county, came into existence largely through the generosity of one citi- zen, Hon. E. J. M. Hale, who in 1873 offered to give $30,000 for a public library on condition that citizens contribute a like amount. Two years later the new library was opened to the public, the collection of books numbering 20,000 and the first librarian being Edward Capen, who had been the first librarian of the Boston Public Library. Mr. Hale contributed annually to the support of the new enterprise, and on his death he bequeathed $100,000 for an endowment fund, which brought his contributions to a total of $175,000. At present the library possesses one hundred and fifty thousand books, which include several valuable and extensive special collections, notably, a depart- ment devoted to the Fine Arts, a very complete Whittier collection, and a large collection of historical material relating to Haverhill and all Essex County. The library maintains two branches, and through the efforts of the present librarian, Donald K. Campbell, it has developed
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a unique and popular activity, a regular bus service twice a week, whereby a bus stocked with books makes scheduled stops in different sections of the city to enable citizens to return and take books with a minimum of inconvenience.
Newburyport was the scene of great library activity in colonial times, a Social Library, a Philosophical Library, and a series of private circulating libraries owned by booksellers being all popular and suc- cessful. On September 7, 1850, a number of prominent citizens headed by Honorable Caleb Cushing held a meeting for the purpose of establishing a library which should be open to the public on the payment of a small fee. In 1852 the Merrimack Library Associa- tion was formed, and two years later Hon. Josiah Little gave $5,000 for the establishment of a free public library. In 1864 citizens sub- scribed $20,000 for the purchase of the Nathaniel Tracy House for the use of the library, and in 188 1 funds were raised for the erection of an annex. The interesting claim is made that the free Newspaper Reading Room established by the library in 1870 is the first room of the kind ever to have been opened in America or Europe. At present the library possesses seventy thousand volumes; it operates a branch ; and its librarian is Frank N. Jones.
In 1810 eighty-two influential citizens of Salem founded the Salem Atheneum Library in imitation of the Boston Atheneum. They sold shares, bought the books of the old Social and Philosophical libraries of Salem, and ordered books from London, England, to the value of six hundred pounds sterling, minus cost of freight and insurance. In ISII the first. catalogue of the library, a pamphlet of seventy-two pages, contained two thousand and seven hundred titles, and subse- quent catalogues reveal a rapid increase in the number of books.
In 1838 the library received a bequest of one thousand dollars from Nathaniel Bowditch, the gift being accompanied by a letter which in the following section illustrates the attitude of the early nineteenth century toward privateering :
"It is well known that the valuable library of the cele- brated Dr. Richard Kirwin was during the Revolutionary War captured in the British Channel on its way to Ireland by a Beverly privateer; and that by the liberal and enlightened views of the owners of the vessel, the library thus captured,
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was sold at a very low rate: and in this manner was laid the foundation upon which have been successfully established the Philosophical Library so-called and the present Salem Athe- neum. Thus in early life, I found near me a better collection of philosophical and scientific books than could be found in any other part of the United States nearer than Philadelphia. And by the kindness of its proprietors I was permitted freely to take books from that library, and to consult and study them at pleasure."
In general the official records of a library are barren of special interest, consisting mainly of lists of new books, investments, and the routine of library maintenance, but on May 19, 1847, the trustees of the Atheneum displayed very human feelings by voting "that the translations of the classical authors be placed under lock and key." Translating Latin and Greek literature into English was a major task of the pupils of the nineteenth century, and it is evident that the less serious young scholars of Salem had taken to copying their daily assignments at the Atheneum. Informed of the sad situation, prob- ably by exasperated teachers, the library trustees rushed to the support of pure and undefiled education. One can well imagine the confusion of the unfortunate student who on May 20 respectfully asked the librarian if he might consult the translation of Cicero's Orations.
"It is under lock and key, Sir, by order of the Trustees," coldly replies the librarian, and with an incoherent, "Oh, yes, Sir," the luck- less youth hastily departs.
In 1854 the Atheneum received a bequest of $30,000 from Miss Caroline Plummer for the erection of a new building, and three years later the library moved into the newly completed Plummer Hall on Essex Street. Here it shared its quarters with The Essex Institute and the Libraries of the Essex South District Medical Society and the Essex Agricultural Society. In 1905 the Atheneum sold Plummer Hall to The Essex Institute for $50,000, and with $41,000 of the money built for itself a second Plummer Hall, removing to its new home in 1907. The present officers are: President of the trustees, S. W. Phillips; treasurer, D. L. Hodgkins; clerk, Joseph N. Ashton; librarian, Mrs. Alice H. Stone.
During this latest period the Atheneum has made steady progress, and with its one hundred and fifty proprietors, its endowment of
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$44,000, and its collection of over twenty-six thousand volumes, it is now one of the important libraries of the county. Historically it is notable for having one of the oldest collections of books in the United States, for possessing many rare editions, including Audubon's "Birds of America," and for being the only Atheneum library remain- ing in Essex County. The private subscription library for general purposes is no longer necessary in America, as the public libraries and the libraries of the colleges and universities meet the needs of citi- zens interested in reading and research, but the Salem Atheneum is extremely useful in its field and is a splendid example of the willing- ness of Essex County citizens to maintain a private and non-paying enterprise for the sake of preserving an old tradition and of contribut- ing to the intellectual life of the county and State.
A town library was opened in Swampscott in 1852, but after a few years it was closed and the books were packed away in a store- room. In 1868 the Swampscott Public Library was organized, and in 1917 the present library building was opened to the public. The books now number 17,500. The librarian is Lucy M. Eveleth.
The Peabody Institute Library, which was opened in 1854, was largely the gift of George Peabody, the great philanthropist, who contributed $20,000 for the building and who gave many books and a remarkable collection of historic articles and documents. The library now possesses over 50,000 volumes. The present librarian is John E. Keefe.
The Lawrence Public Library was established in 1872, its first collection of books being the volumes of the old Franklin Library Association, which had been chartered in 1847, and of the Agricul- tural Library. The books now number 106,000. The librarian is William A. Walsh. The library maintains one branch library.
The Abbot Public Library of Marblehead was established in 1877, the town using for the purpose $20,000 from the Abbot Fund, a bequest of over $100,000 left the town by the late Benjamin Abbot. The library occupies quarters in Abbot Hall, which was built with $75,000 from the Abbot Fund. One of the interesting possessions of the library is the original of the famous patriotic picture, "Yankee Doodle, or the Spirit of '76." The library has 25,000 books. The present librarian is Anna B. Cole.
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The Lynn Public Library, which was organized in 1862, took over the books of the Lynn Library Association, which had previously acquired, in 1855, the volumes of the Social library, that had been formed in 1819. The library now has 146,000 books. The present librarian is Helen Luitweiler.
The Peabody Institute Library of Danvers was founded by George Peabody in 1857 as a branch of the Peabody Institute Library at South Danvers, now Peabody, and it became a separate institution in 1869, as the result of a further gift from Mr. Peabody. The books now number 31,000. The present librarian is Bessie P. Ropes.
The Free Public Library of Ipswich was built in 1869 by Augus- tine Heard, and he and Professor Daniel Treadwell gave separate funds for its maintenance. The books number 17,360. The present librarian is Mrs. Grace E. Baxter.
The first efforts to establish a public library in Salem were made in 1873, and in 1887 the city received a gift of property to be used for library purposes. The present public library was opened in 1889.
The Essex County Law Library, located in the Essex County Superior Courthouse in Salem, was established in 1842 by an act of the Legislature, which permitted attorneys to form county associa- tions and to maintain county law libraries. The books now total 40,000. The present librarian is Sumner Y. Wheeler. The Law- rence Law Library at Lawrence, founded in 1897, has 15,000 books.
The early part of the nineteenth century was the golden age of museums and libraries in Essex County, and Salem was the acknowl- edged leader in the movement. Exactly one hundred years later a second creative impulse manifested itself in the county, and the little town of Andover, the home of Phillips Academy, was the center of the new achievement.
By an interesting coincidence the first development at Andover was made possible by a gift of money from the fortune of the late George Peabody, the founder of the Peabody Museum at Salem. Mr. Peabody had become personally interested in Phillips Academy while his nephew, Robert Singleton Peabody, was a student at Andover, and with his characteristic generosity he had in 1866 endowed at the academy the Peabody instructorship in science. At his death in 1869 he left a large sum of money to his nephew Robert, who after graduating from Phillips Academy and Harvard had
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SALEM-ESSEX STREET, WEST
From Town House Square, in 1826-39, copied from painting on a piece of wood by Lewis Jesse Bridgman.
Essex Institute owns original and copy
Courtesy of The Essex Institute
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become an attorney in Ohio and an enthusiastic amateur archeologist. In 1901 he wrote to Dr. Cecil Bancroft, principal of Phillips Acad- emy, offering to establish and endow a department of archaeology at the academy, his gift to include a building, an archeological collec- tion, and a generous fund for the complete maintenance of the depart- ment. One paragraph of his letter explains his purpose as follows :
"I have thought and wished in this way to give a broader foundation by adding a new one to those departments on which the old Academy so firmly rests; and to bring as clearly as possible, and in the most pleasant way, to the notice of the large number of students there, the knowledge that such science as Archeology exists (a specimen fact that I did not learn in my four years) one of great extent, and to many of fascinating interest, which even in its infancy shows that cultivated, educated life has, at least, one side not bounded by Divinity, Law, or Medicine, and to excite an inter- est with whatever knowledge might be gained at the earliest possible period of student life."
The trustees of the academy accepted the offer, work was begun on the building, and by the dedication of the new structure in 1901 there came into being the first preparatory school archeological department in the United States. The building is admirably adapted to the uses of a school department of archaeology. The ground floor is devoted to two large exhibition rooms, and the second floor has two corresponding rooms, of which one was designed for a library and the other equipped with a stage to serve as a lecture hall. Mr. Peabody, desiring to give the students a suitable place for their meet- ings, lectures, and musical entertainments, had stipulated that after 4 p. m. this hall should be at their disposal, and consequently the new building became at once an important factor in the life of the school. . Under the direction of Warren K. Moorehead, curator, and Dr. Charles Peabody, son of Robert Peabody, non-resident director, the archæological work was immediately begun, five departments being rapidly developed-classes for Phillips Academy students, special training for those who wished to specialize in archaeology, the form- ing of a suitable working library, the carrying on of excavations for
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the purpose of securing specimens, and the publication by the staff of bulletins, articles, and books on archæological subjects.
The department began its career with a collection of 38,000 speci- mens given by Robert Peabody, and it steadily increased its material by excavations and gifts until the total is now more than 200,000, of which many are rare and valuable. The available space in the build- ing became inadequate for the effective display of the collection, and in 1915 in accordance with a plan previously prepared by Mr. Pea- body a separate structure was erected with archeology funds to serve as a social center for the students, and the archaeological specimens were spread throughout the archaeological building. The Phillips Academy Archeology Department thus enjoys the unique distinction of administering a social center known as "Peabody House" for six hundred and fifty school boys, with a club room, a lecture hall, and a basement grill room where meals may be served. Thus "archeology" at Phillips Academy is a very "live" subject, not only for the courses and the exhibitions, in which there is much genuine interest, but also for the social gatherings and frequent entertainments and lectures which the department makes available. It is safe to say that no stu- dent now leaves Phillips Academy without knowing Mr. Peabody's "specimen fact" that there is such a science as archeology.
As the department is definitely devoted on the external side to popularizing its subject among school boys, its collections are repre- sentative, only the best obtainable articles in the different categories being kept on exhibition. The great bulk of the specimens are from North America and particularly from the United States, many hav- ing been secured by the museum itself through its long series of excavations.
Among the most interesting of the Indian cultures on display is that of the "Red Paint Indians" from Maine, a very early tribe, of whom nothing historically is known. Their name comes from the deposits of "Red Paint," that is, ferric oxide, a substance like red earth that is found in their villages. Another valuable collection is the specimens of weapons, ceremonial objects, copper plaques, shell ornaments, etc., that were secured by Mr. Moorehead at Etowah, Georgia. This is an interesting culture that has been extensively studied by the museum.
Of great value archæologically and also of much interest to the layman is the large collection from Pecos, for these specimens not
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only give a remarkable picture of the life of the inhabitants of Pecos, but as many of them had evidently originated in places very remote from Pecos, for instance, from Mexico City and the Atlantic Coast of Florida, they reveal the extent of the trade that was carried on by the Southern Indians in the very early days.
In addition to its very extensive exhibits of Indian cultures that were obtained by exploration and excavation, the museum has numer- ous features that are designed to appeal particularly to school boys and to the general public. In a conspicuous position is a framed strip of birch bark, nine feet in length and sixteen inches wide, covered with cabalistic characters that give the five degrees in the Mid-di-wi- win, or Grand Medicine Lodge of the Ojibway Indians. This precious ritual, which is one hundred and forty years old, was given to Mr. Moorehead in 1909 by Bay-bah-dwin-gay-aush, the last sha- man, or head of the society, who was then an old man of eighty-two years.
The assistant curator, Douglas S. Byers, is using one of the exhibits to carry on extensive investigations in the field of dendro- chronology, or the science of determining the age of beams found in ancient Indian dwellings in the Southwest by examining the rings in the wood. By securing a key plot as the result of carefully study- ing the rings from a section of a living tree found in the vicinity of the ruins, the scientist can fit the rings from his house or bridge beam into the key plot and thus can deduce the date at which the beam was cut from its tree.
A feature of the museum that attracts immediate attention is the striking and beautiful mural paintings which adorn the walls of the stairway that leads from the first to the second floor. Waldemar H. Ritter, of New York, after a long and patient study of copper plates and shell gorgets in the museum collection, made careful reproduc- tions of the most interesting designs, enlarged them, and then painted them in appropriate colors on the staircase walls. These murals are distinctive and artistic in themselves, and they give a most convincing proof of the highly developed craftsmanship of certain of the early Indian tribes.
Much of the success of the department is due to the important excavations and explorations made by Dr. Moorehead, Dr. Alfred V. Kidder, and their associates, the initial enterprise being a very suc-
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cessful study in 1903 of Jacob's Cavern, in the Ozark Mountains, McDonald County, Missouri. This was the first scientific archeologi- cal investigation of an American cave, and the resultant report that appeared in 1904 was not only pronounced the most thorough account of cave exploration ever written, but it has since become the standard guide for such work. Mr. Moorehead then turned to New England, completing in eleven expeditions the mapping of all the known archæo- logical sites in Connecticut and Maine, after which he investigated the Mound Builders in seven states. Another of his undertakings was a study of Indian cultures in the Texas Panhandle. Alone or in coop- eration the department has carried out over thirty explorations in eighteen states and Canada.
One of the most extensive and important achievements of the department and one that attracted much attention in the world of archeology was conducted by Dr. Alfred Kidder, eminent scientist of the Smithsonian Institution, who is also research associate of the Ando- ver department. Aided in part by Dr. Carl E. Guthe, now director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, Dr. Kidder made a long and thorough investigation of the ruined city of the Pecos Valley Indians, an extinct tribe that in the time of Colum- bus was a great trading nation. The ruins, which consist of one huge apartment house that accommodated the entire tribe, yielded many articles and much valuable information, and Dr. Kidder's resulting publication was received by scientists with warm commendation.
A valuable contribution to American life has been made indirectly by the museum, through services rendered by Mr. Moorehead, as a member of the United States Board of Indian Commissioners from 1908 until the commission was abolished in 1934. Intrusted with important investigations of different Indian reservations, Mr. Moore- head made reports to the commissioners that resulted in the ameliora- tion of the condition of thousands of Indians and their protection from the exploitation of unscrupulous whites.
Much of the credit for the development of the archeology depart- ment as a recognized scientific institution and as an integral part of Phillips Academy must go to its one and only curator and active director, who has had a long and useful career as an enthusiastic and capable archæologist. Born of American missionary parents in Siena, Italy, in 1866, Mr. Moorehead attended Dennison University, Ohio,
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served three years as an aide in the Smithsonian Institution at Wash- ington and three years as curator of the Ohio Archeological and His- torical Society of Columbus. Throughout his life he has been an intelligent and indefatigable collector of archeological specimens, preparing an exhibit for the Centennial Exposition at Cincinnati in 1887, securing for the World's Fair at Chicago in 1893 the well- known Hopewell Collection, which is now in the Field Museum at Chicago, and gathering for the Ohio State Society nearly forty thou- sand specimens. While employed by Robert Singleton Peabody in private research from 1894 to 1900, he secured the thirty-eight thou- sand specimens that became the initial collection at Andover, and since the establishment of the department he has excavated the greater part of its new material. He has been a prolific writer, having pub- lished numerous pamphlets and reports and several books, including : "The Stone Age," "Etowah Papers," "Cahokia Explorations" and the volume entitled "Archeology of the Arkansas Valley," published by the department, concerning the origin and development of the Pueblo culture.
The Phillips Academy Archeology Department was an experi- ment, but thanks to the ability and energy of its organizers and to a general interest in archæology that has been steadily developing in the modern world, it has more than justified its existence both by its importance in the life of Phillips Academy and by its recognized posi- tion in the scientific world.
The second phase in the modern cultural development at Phillips Academy was the opening in 1929 of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library, the first complete library unit-building, with professional staff, and with a large collection of books-ever to be the possession of an American private school. As in the case of the Archeology Museum, the entire expense of the new institution, building, furnish- ings, and maintenance endowment, was met by an alumnus of the academy, in this instance, Thomas Cochran, of New York. Profoundly grateful to his old school for the training it had given him and thor- oughly convinced of its value as an educational institution, Mr. Coch- ran began, in 1920, a series of donations that in ten years totaled ten million dollars and gave to the academy an equipment that is not surpassed at any similar school in the country. Very fortunately for present and future students and for Essex County, Mr. Cochran pos-
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sessed not only a generous spirit but an æsthetic theory and a vision- the theory that beauty is an essential element in the education of young boys and a vision of a school in which the most modern and efficient buildings should have the superadded value of beauty and charm. As the result of such an ideal supported by a gift of over $400,000 and the skill of the eminent New York architect, Charles A. Platt, the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library is both an effective library and an artistic creation. Of modified Georgian architecture with portico supported by four lofty stone pillars, the exterior is digni- fied and impressive, while the interior is charming and beautiful. Among the many attractive features of the structure, the two large rectangular rooms on the south and north sides express preeminently its genius or soul, each room producing its individual impression.
The reading room on the south side, known as the Freeman Room, although large and very high, strikes the note of comfort, hospitality, charm, and a rich and gracious beauty. With moulded ceiling tra- versed by two large decorative beams, carved oak paneling in the Grinling Gibbons style extending from floor to ceiling, and a large fireplace with beautifully and elaborately carved mantelpiece and over-mantel, the setting is prepared for the rich rugs, the handsome tables, comfortable leather chairs and couch, and the many attractive table and floor lamps. On the east wall is a mural painting seven by thirteen feet in size, of rich coloring and novel design. A panoramic map by Stuart Travis, of New York, it represents the history of Phillips Academy from its founding in 1778 until 1929, giving in har- monizing but distinctive tones various buildings, historic scenes, minia- tures of distinguished school personages, flags, and emblems-a hundred different details from the academy's annals. Among the items are old engravings of certain buildings in 1790, an ancient cut of the school of 1878, and pictures of George Washington addressing the students and Paul Revere delivering to the academy authorities the official school seal which he had been commissioned to design. By the careful artistry of the details, their happy grouping, and the effec- tive combination of colors, the map is an outstanding example of modern cartography, and a vivid bit of historical record.
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