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Interest in establishing a library in
the Deep River area was sparked in March
of 1899. Mr. H. N. Hull offered to give
up part of his room in the Town Hall
Building and to act as librarian. During
a town meeting $200 was appropriated to
establish and operate a library. The
Deep River Public Library opened its
doors to the public on May 26, 1900,
offering 675 volumes to choose from.
Mrs. Nellie Post was employed as the
first librarian.
Just four years after opening, the Deep
River Public Library had outgrown its
room in the Town Hall. March 23, 1906,
brought an open meeting of the Library
Association so that citizens could
express their preference as to a site
for the library building. The
Association members present at that
meeting then voted to purchase the
Banning-Smith lot combined, located at
the corner of Essex Street and Main
Street for a sum not to exceed $900 for
the site of a new Library building. No
definite plans for the library lot were
made. However, in 1908, the annual
meeting voted fifty dollars for the
improvement of the lot at Essex and Main
Streets. The following year $225 was
appropriated for the formal grading of
the lot.
During 1914 the library was forced to
close its doors for a period of
twenty-three days. This was due to the
prevalence of scarlet fever in the area.
In July, 1927, the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union, W.C.T.U. donated a
beautiful grandfather’s clock to the
library. The chimes still charm the
library. On August 19, 1932, a special
meeting of the Association was called to
discuss the purchase of the Spencer
property for a library from the Estate
of Julia S. Spencer. This property was
located at the corner of Village and
Main Streets in Deep River, across from
the Deep River National Bank.
The Town of Saybrook held a special town
meeting on December 16, 1932 to hear the
proposal. Although it was the depth of
the depression, Deep River had its heart
set on building a library and people
expressed their bitterness for not being
able to do so. Richard Spencer had built
the house in 1881 on the corner of Main
and Village Streets on land bought by
his father George in 1825. After his
first wife died he moved to Corning, New
York and went into banking. In 1866 he
came back to Deep River; in the same
year he married Miss Julia Selden of
Haddam and he was elected President of
Deep River National Bank. Later, in the
early 1880’s he served two years as
Twenty-first District Representative to
the State Senate where he was Chairman
of the Committee of Fisheries and of the
Committee of Banks.
Although Library Association money was
used to purchase the Spencer house and
land, it was given by the Association to
the town as a gift. The town agreed to
provide maintenance to the property as
long as the building was used for a
library and other civic purposes. After
the purchase was secured, Mr. Harvey J.
Brooks was put in charge of the Spencer
renovation. The building was repaired,
repainted, and a new heating system
installed, and new book racks made.
Clara E. Moore was the first librarian
in the new library, which opened on May
10, 1933. This occasion was celebrated
with a public whist sponsored by the
Garden Club. The Deep River Library
building proved to be a very civic
building. The second floor served as
headquarters for the American Legion and
the Garden Club. Classes such as those
offered by the Red Cross often took
place. The Board felt the library should
not lend its use to dances. They
believed it did not uphold the purpose
of the building.
In
1967 the Deep River Library joined the
Teletype service offered by the
Connecticut State Library. This enabled
Deep River residents to obtain books
from libraries in Hartford, New Haven,
Greenwich, and Bridgeport, which offered
more extensive selections.
Seventy-five years of an established
library saw changes and growth with the
community around it. In 1975, the Deep
River library offered 10,669 volumes and
140 record albums to choose from. This
was a growth of nearly 10,000 books from
675 it opened with in 1900. During 1980,
"Friends of the Deep River Library" was
established. This group provided a new
facet to library services by offering a
variety of programs.
Insufficient space had been a problem
almost since the Library first opened.
Old, seldom circulated books were
constantly weeded out, but by the 1970’s
the problem was becoming acute. In 1992
it received a large bequest from Ruth
Johnson who had served on the Board from
1957 to 1965. She directed that the
funds be used for expansion. In the same
year bequeaths also came from Hazel
Clark and Kathy Pierson. The new
addition, which added shelf space, a new
circulation desk and downstairs
community room was dedicated in
November, 1995. |
