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
1773
 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.
Who Was William Andrus Alcott?
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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
Abijah Fenn House
Center
School
 The new Church library was housed at the entrance of the Church.
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
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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
Joseph Ciarlo
Mrs. Gloria Lanosa
Martin McCallum
Gloria D’Agostino
Robert Ducham
Edson Seymour
Mrs. Isabelle Way
David Herbst
John Keating
Mrs. Geraldine D. Cullen
Dr. Charles C. Sasso, Jr.
Lucian Helaire
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
Rev. Sherman Andrews
Mrs. Florence Bergen,
Librarian
Linda Pierpoint
First Selectman
Edward Bagley
 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.
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, Mary Hunt, and Margie Smith
Junior Women’s Club members: Mrs. Dennis Marcoux,
Mrs. Phil Culver, Mrs. David Herbst and Alex.
 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.
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!!
Wolcott Green 1912
1828------1839--------1843-------1859--------1863---------1873----------1912------------1915--------1924---------1957---------1959------------1970
Church
Library
Church
Burns
New
Rev. Rogers adds books
Church/Library
100th Anniv.
Alcott adds
books
Rev. Furness
adds books
Move to
Town Hall
Beecher Mem.
Center Sch Center Sch.
Basement Upstairs
New Library
Opened