Library building celebrates 100

On Sunday, the Daland Memorial Library in Mont Vernon will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the library building.

Festivities will begin at 1 p.m. with a Power Point presentation by Richard Quintal about the town’s cemeteries. He will be followed by longtime resident Keith Pomeroy, who will discuss the town’s agricultural history.

Alice Corbett and Karen MacDonald will then talk about the history of the library, and there will be plenty of time afterward for refreshments and conversation.

The town library was established in 1816, and moved six times between 1892 and 1909. Sites included the McCollom Building, the Grange Hall and a private home.

On Sept. 20, 1890, Sophia Daland signed her will, leaving the bulk of her estate for the establishment of a library fund and to maintain forever a public library in the town. She asked that a reasonable part of the estate be left to maintain a trust fund. She was a widow who had lived in town for about 45 years before moving to Milford.

It took 10 years for the town to agree on a site for the new library. Two buildings were moved from the present site to make room for it.

In 1947, the wood-burning furnace was replaced with oil heat.

A telephone was installed in 1973, and plumbing was added in 1974.

– Jessie Salisbury