The Lucius Beebe Memorial Library is the main library for the town of

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offers ...

. The building that currently holds the town's main library was opened in 1923 and is named after the first library commissioner.

History

Originally, the town of Wakefield,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, was named South Reading and its first

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

was called the Social Library and was organized in the early part of the nineteenth century as a

subscription library A subscription library (also membership library or independent library) is a library that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments. Unlike a public library, access is often restricted to members, but access rights c ...

. The library's collection consisted mostly of theological works. This library was not very successful and many subscribers soon withdrew their support. In 1831, the South Reading Franklin Library opened and this subscription library consisted mostly of books on art, science, history, and medicine. In 1834, these two libraries merged and retained the name of Franklin Library. In March 1856, the town approved the creation of a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

to be supported by local taxation. A committee was appointed and by the summer of 1856, the public library opened on the first floor of the old Town House. The library circulated 4,135 books the first six months it was opened. In 1857, the town sought to expand the library and appointed Lucius Beebe as chair of the library committee. This committee received an appropriation of $300 to purchase books and pay the salary of the librarian. By 1859, the library had grown to 1,678 volumes. The first librarian was noted as a Miss E.M. Newhall who was replaced in 1859 by Mrs. Emily C. Poland who served until 1866.Ingram, E. (1925)
''The Lucius Beebe memorial library, an historical sketch''
Wakefield, MA, Wakefield Item Press. In 1868,

Cyrus Wakefield Cyrus Wakefield (February 7, 1811 – October 26, 1873) was a manufacturer of rattan furniture and carriage bodies, and the founder of the Wakefield Rattan Company, the largest manufacturer of rattan products at the time. The town of Wakefiel ...

, the namesake of the future town, donated a house to be used by the city. One-half of the first floor of this building was dedicated as the new library space. Lucius Beebe donated $500 to the library and, as a result, the town renamed the library as the "Beebe Public Library." In 1871, a new town hall was built and the town was renamed Wakefield. Several months later the library was moved to the new Wakefield town hall. The library continued to rapidly grow and by 1900 the library board sought funding for a new building. After many failed attempts, a

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

met in 1916 to buy land for a new library building in the downtown district. The committee agreed to buy land on the corner of Main and Avon Streets. The residents raised $12,000 for the land in a civic campaign. In December 1916, Junius Beebe, the son of the late Lucius Beebe, donated $60,000 for the construction of the library building. Construction was delayed, however, by the entry of the country into World War I. Construction did begin eventually in 1922 after the cornerstone was laid and was completed and opened on April 15, 1923.

The Building

The building is constructed in the

neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

. It was originally described as

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

colonial with Georgian influence built in the Greek style. There is also a large reading room adorned with medallions that pay homage to literary giants such as

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

. The medallions were constructed by Bennidetto Chippolini.

References

{{WakefieldMA Library buildings completed in 1923 Wakefield, Massachusetts Libraries in Middlesex County, Massachusetts 1856 establishments in Massachusetts