Rockingham Free Public Library
black image of openbook along with name of library in a vertical orientation
43°07′51″N 72°26′41″W / 43.1308°N 72.4446°W / 43.1308; -72.4446
LocationBellows Falls, Vermont
EstablishedNovember 23, 1909 (1909-11-23)
Architect(s)McLean & Wright
Collection
Size44,000 titles
Other information
DirectorIan Graham
Employeesnine
Websiterockinghamlibrary.org

Rockingham Free Public Library is one of four Carnegie Libraries in the state of Vermont.[1] The building, in Bellows Falls, Vermont, a village of Rockingham, Vermont, was designed by Boston architects McLean & Wright in Classical Revival style.[2][3] The Carnegie grant was offered in 1905. The town took a while to decide on allocating matching funds.[4] The library officially opened on November 23, 1909.[3] A children's annex was added to the building in 1929.[5] In 2003 a new entryway and elevator were added for improved accessibility.[5]

Early history

Prior to this building being built, the Rockingham Free Public Library occupied a room in the lower floor of the town's opera house.[3] Before that, there was a subscription library founded on October 28, 1799, as the Rockingham Library Society.[3] The book collection moved around town occupying a room in the town's first high school, and a local drug store.[4]: 596  The town's first public library card was issued in 1888.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Vermont. Free Public Library Commission (1910). Biennial Report of the Free Public Library Commission of the State of Vermont. p. 59. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  2. ↑ "McLean, William H." Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Library History – Rockingham Free Public Library". Rockingham Free Public Library. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  4. 1 2 Hayes, Lyman Simpson (2016-10-23). "History of the town of Rockingham, Vermont, including the villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1753-1907, with family genealogies". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  5. 1 2 "Rockingham Free Public Library". New England Carnegies. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  6. ↑ Lovell, Frances Stockwell. History of Rockingham. pp. 125–128.


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