Russell Library is an 1876 library located at 123 Broad Street in
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...
.
History
In 1876, Frances Ann (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Osborne) Russell established Russell Library in memory of her husband, the prominent merchant
Samuel Russell of
Russell & Co. Frances purchased the
Church of the Holy Trinity on the corner of Broad and Court Streets in Middletown and remodeled it in the
Gothic Revival Style.
The building opened on April 5, 1876 as the public library for the City of Middletown.
In 1896, David Ross of
East Haddam
East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk, the Mohegan and the Ni ...
, who served with the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
during the
U.S. Civil War, donated his sword to the Library's war relic museum.
Additions
In 1930, what is known as the "Hubbard wing" was added to the structure. In 1972, the First Federal Saving and Loan Association of Meriden was remodeled as the Children's Library and, in 1983, the main structure and the Children's Library were connected.
In 1997 and 1999, the library purchased an adjacent building on Court Street and Broad Street, respectively, for offices in order to accommodate needs and future expansion, if needed.
References
Further reading
* Castegnetti, Nancy R. ''The History of Russell Library Company, Middletown, Connecticut'', Master's thesis,
Southern Connecticut State College, 1966. 100p.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell Library
Libraries in Middlesex County, Connecticut
Buildings and structures in Middletown, Connecticut