Waterbury Village Public Library

From the book "Where The Books Are"
Written by Patricia W. Belding, Potash Book Publishing

The Waterbury Village Public Library, the larger of two in town, is located on Main Street (US Route 2) in a converted private home that withstood the flood of 1927. Dr. Henry Janes, eminent in the Civil War and in private practice, built the Queen Anne house about 1875 as his residence and surgery. He died in 1915, leaving it to be used for a library.

The first library began in 1856, when two brothers, George and Edwin Colby, came to town and organized the Waterbury library Association, a type of lyceum formed for debate and the presentation of papers. A collection of 500 books was made available to members as fuel for their arguments.

Early in 1887, when interest in the lyceum had waned, a Congregational minister, Charles M. Sheldon, started a reading club for young people. Later that year, he established the Waterbury Reading Room and Library, then in 1888, he helped found the Waterbury Public library Association whose $1,000 stock was made up of $1 shares.

After members of the lyceum had turned their books over to the new library and had received one free share each, Etta Straw took over on November 24 in rooms rented at $3.50 a month from L.P. Mussey. When Henrietta Fales died in 1906, she left $15,000 to the library in memory of her husband, Horace. For 20 years support came from dues, donations, and proceeds from lectures, ice cream sales, and entertainments. W.P. Dillingham loaned space over the Waterbury Savings Bank, and in 1908, the library was made free to all legal residents. A rented room in the Hobart block was used until the move to the Janes house.

Dr. Janes's gift of this large home in memory of his wife, the former Frances B. Hall, was the culmination of the couple's involvement in library affairs. He wrote in his will that his wife's interest in the library "ceased only when she departed this life."69 Both had served as trustees of the association in the early days and were much interested in educational work.

Designed in a style popular in Vermont from 1880 to 1900, the three-story building has irregular lines, gables, dormers, bay windows, a hooded side entrance, and fish-scale shingling. At first, the inside included shelves, reading rooms for adults and children, historical and trustees' rooms, and an auditorium. There were also quarters for a caretaker and his family.

The flood of 1927, devastating to Waterbury, badly damaged the library and ruined all books but two atlases, one of which was saved because the table on which it was resting floated off the floor and up to the ceiling. Aid came from Waterbury, Connecticut, the Carnegie Corporation, and individuals and businesses.

In 1993, the March-meeting ballot contained an item for renovation and new construction. The plans included building a ramp and providing rest rooms for physical access, as well as strengthening the building in the area of the historical/meeting room upstairs. Although staff and volunteers worked hard on the project, the proposal was defeated.

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