Concord Free Public Library

The Concord Free Public Library is a public library in the town of Concord, Massachusetts. The main building is located at 129 Main Street, and the Fowler branch is located at 1322 Main Street in West Concord.

Concord Free Public Library
Interior of the library, 1873
General information
Architectural styleGeorgian
LocationConcord, Massachusetts
Address129 Main St., Concord, Mass. 01742 [1]
Coordinates42.458°N 71.353°W / 42.458; -71.353
Completed1873
Renovated1889, 1917, Early 1930s, 1938, 1968, 1986 to 1990, 2003 to 2005 [2]
Technical details
Floor count3
Design and construction
Architecture firmSnell and Gregerson

History

The Concord Free Public Library was founded by Concord native William Munroe, son of the famed pencil-maker. Munroe worked with other prominent members of Concord to form a Board of Trustees that would provide financial backing for the library. Building plans were commissioned by Boston firm Snell and Gregerson. The land was purchased in 1869, and construction began in 1872. The library was dedicated on October 1, 1873.

In March 1885, the Concord Free Library was the first institution to ban Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and a number of New England newspapers applauded their condemnation: the Daily Advertiser (Boston), the Daily Republican (Springfield, MA), and the Freeman (Concord, MA). But many criticized or mocked the library's decision, and as a number of contemporaries and Twain himself noted, the ban contributed to the novel's publicity and helped its sales.[3]

The Fowler branch of the Concord Free Public Library, designed by architect Harry Little, was dedicated on May 18, 1930.

References
  1. "Concord Free Public Library". Concord Free Public Library. Concord Free Public Library. 2009-01-10.
  2. "Concord Historic Buildings". Concord Free Public Library. Concord Free Public Library. 2009-01-10. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
  3. Michael Patrick Hearn, "Introduction," The Annotated Huckleberry Finn (New York & London: W.W. Norton, 2001), pp. lxxvi-lxxxii.
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