The residents who use the Townsend Public Library, in Townsend, Massachusetts are the luckiest patrons, because their library was gifted to them in 2009. When we walked in, there was no doubt that this was new and huge. I was told two other buildings (Senior Center and Meeting Rooms) also connected to the library, of course I walked into all the rooms. There was no original or old section to this library. However, I was told where their previous library was, and we found it (shown below).
From a
news article, "
The previous library, The Hart Free Public Library, was 4,000 square feet and has now been rebuilt to the new 17,000 square foot building which features a senior center, meeting hall, and a library equipped with wireless internet access and 56 state of the art public access computers."
The History / Genealogy room was locked, and I didn't ask to be let in. From what I could see, it didn't look like there was a lot available for genealogists.
Sterilite Corporation was founded in 1939 in Fitchburg, MA as a partnership between Saul and Edward Stone and Earl Tupper, the inventor of Tupperware. The company moved to Townsend in 1968. This is the company that gifted the huge three building complex.
Shared hallway between the three facilities.
Main room in the Senior Center.
Above is the Senior Center, Meeting Rooms and Library, all connected by a walkway and have shared restrooms.
Lovely pine trees surround part of the library complex.
Hart Free Library, built in 1929.
I walked up the steps and could look inside, as shown above by my photo taken through the glass pane. There right in front of me are stacks of books, and some look like account books. It's hard to believe that after all these years, nobody has cleaned this mess or moved these items.
Side view of the old Hart Free Library.
