The L. P. Fisher Public Library, started in 1912 and completed in 1914, is a landmark in the town of

Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, 103 km upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the inter ...

, Canada. Named for Lewis Peter Fisher (1821-1905), a loyalist lawyer, mayor, and leading citizen of Woodstock who bequeathed $208,000 (a considerable sum in 1905) for local charitable purposes, including the construction of a free library. The library was designed in a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style by architect G. Ernest Fairweather of

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

and after two years of construction was completed in 1914. The exterior is brick with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

trim, and the interior is furnished in Honduran

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

. There is a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

buried in the

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

. The front steps are of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, as are the foundations of the building. The historical collections of the library include 19th century census records, maps, newspapers, family histories, military and cemetery records. An expansion and restructuring of the library began in 2013 and was completed in 2015.

Statistics (1999-2000)

*Size: 546 m² (5877 square feet) *Total Collection: 26,253 volumes *Annual Circulation: 79,901 volumes

Significant holdings

*Census 1851, 1871 and 1891 in hard copies for the area. *On microfilm the census for 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. *Marriage records for Carleton and York Counties *Set of Dan Johnston's " Vital Statistics from NB Brunswick Newspapers" 1784-1890 *1876 Map of Carleton County naming all the homes and businesses *Carleton Sentinel 1849–present and Dispatch 1894-1919 (local papers) on microfilm *Muster Roll of the Carleton Light Dragoons, 1840. *Index to the Carleton Sentinel *RC records on microfilm *Families histories of Campbell, Collicott, Dibblee, Dow, Faulkner, Feero, Fisher, Flowers, Folwer, Gallagher, Grant, Joyall, Kinney, Lonstaff, Morehouse, Nicholson, Orser, Perry, Price, Raymond, Sharp, Shaw, Snow, Stoddard, Tompkins, Tomsom. *Extensive cemetery records

The library in popular media

The building is seen in the 2000 movie

Ricky 6 ''Ricky 6'' is a 2000 American-Mexican-Canadian film co-production loosely based on the life of Ricky Kasso, a suburban teenager accused of Satanism and murder in the 1980s. The film was written and directed by Peter Filardi, and based on the 198 ...

. The facade was temporarily altered to feature a different name and an

American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

was flown from the flagpole. The interior was also altered and repainted for use in the film; however upon the completion of

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

, the producers of the movie arranged for the interior furnishings to be left in better condition than they had been before the start of production.

References

External links

New Brunswick Public Library Service
{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1914 Buildings and structures in Carleton County, New Brunswick Education in Carleton County, New Brunswick Public libraries in New Brunswick Woodstock, New Brunswick Libraries established in 1914 1914 establishments in Canada