Summary
The history of the Bolton Free Library.
Pomeroy Foundation Historic Marker Map: https://www.wgpfoundation.org/history/map/
The Bolton Free Library began as a Reading Association in the late 1800s. By 1899 it was decided that a proper library should be established, and Dr. Rogers hired Tubbs Hall to be used as the Bolton Library. Tubbs Hall was located on the second floor of a building, which was located just to the north of the Indian Tepee Store, in what is currently a vacant lot. Membership in the reading room cost $1 per year. $100 was requested from the State of New York for the purchase of new books and the Town of Bolton donated an additional $100 for the library.
On December 19, 1901, the Bolton Free Library was granted a provisional charter to serve the 500 residents of Bolton Landing. The Commissioner of Education, Andrew Draper, signed this charter. The trustees of the Board were: Reverend Dwight Parce, Robert Taylor, John Taber, and Robert Cardle.
The existing records show that the trustees went to talk to Mr. C. R. Conger, the property owner when the bids were received. A bond and mortgage of unknown sums were obtained from Mr. Conger for the plot of land measuring 60 by 65 feet where the library stands today. Research has not been able to determine the cost of the original building, or the amount of the mortgage. Donations were sought. $80 was raised from a dramatic entertainment, but no details were provided. Card parties, pancake suppers, and rummage sales all helped raised funds for the Library construction.
The construction of the current Bolton Free Library was completed in 1902 by Mr. Frank P. Shippy. The library was approximately 1000 square feet . Records from 1905 show that the cement sidewalk cost $25 and a stove and other fixtures cost an additional $25.
The image below shows expenses from 1902 associated with the library construction to Mr. Frank Shippy.
LIBRARIANS AND THE EXPENDITURES BOOK
The first librarian was Mrs. JE Stafford. She was paid $4 per month. The earliest record we have of her tenure is in the Bolton Free Library Expenditures book. Her $8 monthly salary was paid on April 2, 1900 “for services as Librarian for the first 4 weeks”. (See the photo below). There are regular monthly expenditures of $8 paid to Mrs. Stafford through the summer of 1904.
The following is a page from the Bolton Library Expenditures Book dated February 1, 1900, showing Mrs. JE Stafford received $8 for “Services as Librarian”.
The second librarian was Mrs. Etta Ingraham who “took charge” and was paid as the librarian starting on September 27, 1904.
Below is a page from the Bolton Library Expenditures Book dated July 16, 1905.
The Expenditures book has a series of very large expenses listed, starting January 1, 1902 and continuing through November 9, 1902, ranging from $250 – $800, paid to Mr. Frank Shippy, a local builder, and we believe this is when the Library was actually built. On December 20, 1904 the first mortgage payment of $825.83 is listed in the Expenditures book.
Below is a photo of the front page of the Borrowers Ledger circa 1901.
This photo is a page from the Borrowers Ledger, circa 1903.
Below are copies of two letters regarding magazine subscriptions, one from 1910 and one from 1912. The 1912 letter to Mrs. McAneny regarding a renewal subscription to the Ladies’ Home Journal (we assume for the Bolton Library as there are also 2 more letters to different publishers regarding magazine subscriptions). Mr. McAneny’s assistant signed it. Mr. McAneny was the Manhattan Borough President from 1910-1913 and a famous newspaperman, reformer and city planning advocate. His wife, who was born Marjorie Jacobi, was the daughter of Abraham Jacobi, a noted German physician and pioneer pediatrician, who had a home here in Bolton Landing on Lake George, where he died in 1919. The Jacobi descendants still own the local family home and in 1936 there was a park dedicated to Abraham Jacobi and Carl Schurz in Bolton Landing. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/1177372
We also found an original typed letter dated March 4, 1908 from Edward B. Eaton, who was selling the “Famous Brady Collection of Original Photographs Taken on the Battlefields During the Civil War”.
We have a ‘Condensed Accession Book – The Official Record of Each Volume Added to the Library’ from June 3, 1901 to May 8, 1906.
