The Zadoc Long Free Library is the public library of
Buckfield, Maine, United States. It is located at 5 Turner Street in a small wood-frame building designed by
John Calvin Stevens
John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...
and built in 1901. It was a gift to the town from Buckfield native
John Davis Long in honor of his father Zadoc, and was the town's first library. The library was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
Description and history
The library is a single-storey wood-frame structure, with a hip roof, walls sheathed in wood shingles, and a granite foundation. A slightly projecting gable hangs over the entrance, which is centered on the three-bay main facade. The doorway is flanked by sidelight windows with diamond panes, echoing a feature in the elliptical hood, which surmounts the door. The gable is supported by a pair of console brackets. To the left of the entry are paired sash windows with multi-pane upper and two-pane lower; to the right there are three such windows. The interior of the library is divided into three spaces: the center has the circulation desk, the right side has a reading area, and the left side has the stacks. The stacks consist of original wooden shelving with Craftsman style pedestals at the ends. The reading room has a large brick fireplace.
(1838–1915), a Buckfield native, served as
Governor of Massachusetts in the 1880s and as
United States Secretary of the Navy under President
William McKinley. In 1900, he acted on an idea he had harbored for some time to provide his place of birth with a library, hiring the noted
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
architect
John Calvin Stevens
John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...
to design the building. The property on which it stands was donated to the town, and the building was completed in 1901. Long and his relatives provided an initial collection of books. The library is one of a series designed by Stevens for a number of small Maine communities around the turn of the 20th century; the design of the Long library was influential in his work on the
Rumford Public Library
The Rumford Public Library is a library in Rumford, Maine. The building it is in was designed by Maine architect John Calvin Stevens and was built with a funding grant from Andrew Carnegie in 1903. The architecturally distinguished building was lis ...
, and the
Cary Library in
Houlton, both designed in 1903.
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See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Oxford County, Maine
References
External links
Zadoc Long Free Library web site
{{National Register of Historic Places
Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Shingle Style architecture in Maine
Colonial Revival architecture in Maine
Library buildings completed in 1901
Libraries in Oxford County, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Oxford County, Maine