The Hubbard Free Library is the

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

serving

Hallowell, Maine Hallowell is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,570 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Hallowell is noted for its culture and old architecture. Hallowel ...

. Built in 1879-80, it is the oldest library building in Maine built for that purpose.Library Postcards
/ref> It was designed by architect

Alexander C. Currier Alexander Curtis Currier (April 16, 1831 in Readfield, Maine – April 24, 1892 in Hallowell, Maine) was an American architect and designer of cemetery monuments. He worked as a draftsman for the Hallowell Granite Works. His Hubbard Free Library ...

to resemble an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

country

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Ch ...

. Dedicated in 1880 as the Hallowell Library, it was renamed the Hubbard Free Library in 1894, after a $20,000

donation A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs suc ...

from

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Thomas Hubbard. The building is a contributing property in the

Hallowell Historic District The Hallowell Historic District encompasses the historic 18th and 19th-century heart of Hallowell, Maine. The city developed as a major port on the Kennebec River, during which time its downtown and adjacent residential area were built up. Fu ...

Founding

The Hallowell Social Library was instituted in 1843, by forty-three stockholders, who paid $20. When first established, the collection was inaccessible to the general public; only subscribers and members of their families were entitled to use the books.''Manual of public libraries, institutions, and societies: in the United States, 1859'', p. 71. The library became a public library five years later, and the use of the library to individuals of the public other than stockholders was available for $3 per year. This fee was reduced to $2 annually the following year, in 1848. The

Friends group Cooperating Associations, also known as ''interpretive associations'' or ''natural history associations'', support the interpretive, educational and scientific programs and services of governmental land management agencies such as the National Park ...

began a

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed * Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * B ...

to raise money for a permanent building in 1878, and in 1880 the building was dedicated. The cost of the original library was $8,300, which included the land and building. Alexander C. Currier donated his services, designing and supervising the

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

of the original building. The entire building is of Hallowell

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

and was contributed by Joseph R. Bodwell, then-president of the Hallowell Granite Co. and later

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine ...

. The

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

fret work that originally adorned the peaks of the building was donated by Prescott & Fuller Iron Foundry.

Expansion

In 1893, Thomas Hubbard, a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

, railroad executive, financier, businessman and philanthropist, donated the funds for the construction of a free library. In March 1894, the new structure was complete and was renamed Hubbard Free Library. The money was used to build an addition to the existing building, in the form of a cross-axial

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building with ...

, in keeping with the original church design. A second addition was added in 1897, with $10,000 donated by Eliza Clark Lowell of Hallowell, a direct descendant of Deacon Pease Clark, who was the first settler in Hallowell.Maine Memory Network - Eliza Clark Lowell, Hallowell, ca. 1897
/ref> File:Hubbard Free Library Hallowell ME circa 1880 HABS cropped.jpg, Interior, circa 1880. File:Hubbard Free Library Hallowell ME 1971 HABS.jpg, Interior, 1971.

References

External links

*
City of Hallowell
{{authority control Library buildings completed in 1880 Public libraries in Maine Libraries in Kennebec County, Maine Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Historic district contributing properties in Maine Buildings and structures in Hallowell, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Kennebec County, Maine 1880 establishments in Maine