The Zadoc Long Free Library is the public library of

Buckfield, Maine Buckfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Buckfield is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. It is a member of Regional School Unit 10 along with nearby Hartford and Sumner. The ...

, United States. It is located at 5 Turner Street in a small wood-frame building designed by

John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine. ...

and built in 1901. It was a gift to the town from Buckfield native

John Davis Long John Davis Long (October 27, 1838 – August 28, 1915) was an American lawyer, politician, and writer from Massachusetts. He was the 32nd governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1880 to 1883. He later served as the Secretary of the Navy from 189 ...

in honor of his father Zadoc, and was the town's first library. The library was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1994.

Description and history

The library is a single-storey wood-frame structure, with a hip roof, walls sheathed in wood shingles, and a granite foundation. A slightly projecting gable hangs over the entrance, which is centered on the three-bay main facade. The doorway is flanked by sidelight windows with diamond panes, echoing a feature in the elliptical hood, which surmounts the door. The gable is supported by a pair of console brackets. To the left of the entry are paired sash windows with multi-pane upper and two-pane lower; to the right there are three such windows. The interior of the library is divided into three spaces: the center has the circulation desk, the right side has a reading area, and the left side has the stacks. The stacks consist of original wooden shelving with Craftsman style pedestals at the ends. The reading room has a large brick fireplace.

(1838–1915), a Buckfield native, served as

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

in the 1880s and as

United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...

under President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

. In 1900, he acted on an idea he had harbored for some time to provide his place of birth with a library, hiring the noted

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

architect John Calvin Stevens to design the building. The property on which it stands was donated to the town, and the building was completed in 1901. Long and his relatives provided an initial collection of books. The library is one of a series designed by Stevens for a number of small Maine communities around the turn of the 20th century; the design of the Long library was influential in his work on the

Rumford Public Library The Rumford Public Library is a library in Rumford, Maine. The building it is in was designed by Maine architect John Calvin Stevens and was built with a funding grant from Andrew Carnegie in 1903. The architecturally distinguished building was li ...

, and the Cary Library in Houlton, both designed in 1903.

References

External links

Zadoc Long Free Library web site
{{National Register of Historic Places Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Shingle Style architecture in Maine Colonial Revival architecture in Maine Library buildings completed in 1901 Libraries in Oxford County, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Oxford County, Maine 1901 establishments in Maine John Calvin Stevens buildings

Description and history

See also

References

External links