Russell Library is an 1876 library located at 123 Broad Street in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

, United States.

History

In 1876, Frances Ann (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Osborne) Russell established Russell Library in memory of her husband, the prominent merchant

Samuel Russell Samuel Russell (August 25, 1789 – May 5, 1862), was an American entrepreneur and trader, and founder of Russell & Company, the largest and most important American trading house in China from 1824 to its closing in 1891. Early life Russel ...

of Russell & Co. Frances purchased the Church of the Holy Trinity on the corner of Broad and Court Streets in Middletown and remodeled it in the

Gothic Revival Style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

. The building opened on April 5, 1876 as the public library for the City of Middletown. In 1896, David Ross of East Haddam, who served with the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

during the U.S. Civil War, donated his sword to the Library's war relic museum.

Additions

In 1930, what is known as the "Hubbard wing" was added to the structure. In 1972, the First Federal Saving and Loan Association of Meriden was remodeled as the Children's Library and, in 1983, the main structure and the Children's Library were connected. In 1997 and 1999, the library purchased an adjacent building on Court Street and Broad Street, respectively, for offices in order to accommodate needs and future expansion, if needed.

History

Additions

References

Further reading