An article in today’s Boston Globe, titled Shelf Life, expounds on the treasure trove of artifacts to be found in local libraries. Aside from the possibility of rare books and historic documents, many libraries house other significant items in their special collections.
Our local library, the Concord Free Public Library, sits on the site of the Mary Merrick Brooks home. Brooks was “a radical abolitionist and associate of William Lloyd Garrison.” The house was part of the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s.
Today’s library building boasts paintings of N. C. Wyeth as part of its extensive art collection. The surveying compass and tripod used by Henry David Thoreau is stored there; many people don’t realize that the well-known writer and naturalist made his living as a surveyor for the town. Original manuscripts of Emerson and Thoreau are in the climate-controlled safe, along with other documents of historic and literary significance.
Many libraries have extensive art collections and items of interest to a genealogist or biographer, such as grave records and family histories. Even written records that may seem mundane today, such as town archives and scrapbooks, are preserved for the reference of future researchers.
What significant items does your local library house? You may be surprised at the treasures lurking there!
I recently visited Concord and fell in love with the area. How fortunate you are to live in such an historic location with such literary importance!
Lori – we’ve been here about a year, and really like it. I feel like we have only touched the tip of the iceberg with all the fun/historic/educational things there are to do in the area.
Toward the end of last summer my (then) 11-yr-old Little Woman said “if we go to another museum, I’m going to scream!”