The Charles Flint Public Library is the public library of
Middleton, Massachusetts
Middleton is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,779 at the 2020 census.
History
Middleton was first settled in 1659, and was officially incorporated in 1728. Prior to 1728 it was considered a part o ...
, USA. It is located in a Richardsonian Romanesque building at 1 South Main Street in the center of the town. The building, the only Romanesque building in Middleton, was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2002.
Description and history
The Flint Public Library is set on the west side of South Main Street (
Massachusetts Route 114
Route 114 is a Massachusetts state route that, while essentially a northwest–southeast route, is signed west–east. It runs from Route 28 in Lawrence to its terminus at Route 129 in Marblehead. The route is entirely located in Essex County ...
) in Middleton's town center. It is a 1-1/2 story brick structure, set on a granite foundation, with a slate hip roof. The front facade is dominated by its entrance at the center, which is outlined in light-colored sandstone. Above this is front-facing gable, whose left side is interrupted by a square tower topped by a pyramidal roof. The tower houses a
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
clock in working condition. A wing extends to the rear of the main block, housing most of the book stacks.
[
Middleton's first library collection was established in 1772 as a private lending collection. Middleton native ]Charles L. Flint
Charles Louis Flint (May 8, 1824 – February 26, 1889) was a lawyer, cofounder and first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, a lecturer in cattle and dairy farming, the first secretary of the Massachusetts Agricultural College ...
in 1879 offered the town funding and a seed collection of books to establish a public library. This initial collection was merged with the private collection and was initially housed in a room in town hall. After Flint's death in 1889, the town received a $10,000 bequest from his estate. The resulting building was designed by George F. Loring
George Fullington Loring (1851–1918) was an architect from Boston, Massachusetts.
Life and career
George Fullington Loring was born March 26, 1851, in Boston to George and Harriet Abba (Stoodley) Loring.Charles Henry Pope and Katharine Peabody ...
and Sanford Phipps, regional architects known for their public buildings, and was completed in 1891. The building's stained glass windows were designed by the Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
-born artist Donald MacDonald.
See also
*
References
External links
Flint Public Library
{{authority control
Library buildings completed in 1890
Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Libraries in Essex County, Massachusetts
Public libraries in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts