Danforth Memorial Library, Paterson, New Jersey

[LIB8026] Undated postcard published by the Valentine & Sons' Publishing Company, New York and Boston. Printed in the United States. The Valentine Company, a lithographic printing firm, was founded in 1825 in Dundee, Scotland by John Valentine.

1918 Danforth Memorial Public Library, Paterson, New Jersey

[LIB2511] - SPECIAL COLLECTION: Sanborn Maps - Paterson --Online access to all the NJ maps from 1867 through 1970. The Sanborn Map Company is the oldest mapping company in the United States. Founded in 1866, the company created detailed building maps of cities and towns all across the country, primarily for use by insurance companies. These maps also have been used extensively by local government agencies for over a century in conducting their daily operations efficiently. Approximately 12,000 American cities and towns are chronicled in the company's collection of over one million maps. As a result of its history, the name "Sanborn" has become synonymous with this kind of map. Genealogists, local history buffs, city planners, architects, and countless others have been drawn to the quality of detail found in them.

Passaic Falls, Paterson NJ 1907 vintage by markomundo
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Danforth Memorial Library, Paterson New Jersey

Mary Danforth Ryle was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on 8 January 1833, the daughter of Charles Danforth, the designer and manufacturer of the first coal-burning locomotive engine. A veteran of the War of 1812, Charles Danforth was also known for his patented invention, that of the Danforth Spindle, a cotton spinning frame.
Mary Danforth married William Ryle of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, reputed to be the largest and wealthiest silk importer in the United States. William Ryle was the nephew of John Ryle, the "Father of the U.S. Silk Industry" in Paterson.
Throughout her life, Mary Danforth Ryle was always philanthropic. After her father's death, Mary Ryle donated the residence of her father to the city of Paterson to be used as the city's first library. She provided the funds to alter, furnish and equip the new institution. After the catastrophic fire of 1902, in which much of downtown Paterson was destroyed, including the Danforth Library, Mary Ryle once again donated the funds necessary to build the new Danforth Memorial Library located on Broadway in Paterson. Ryle contracted with Henry Bacon, who designed the Lincoln Memorial to build the new city library. The Danforth Memorial Library is perhaps the most notable and beautiful public buildings in the city of Paterson. Mary Danforth Ryle was so loved by the citizens of Paterson that at the time of her death, the funeral was one of the largest the city had ever seen. Mrs. Ryle was buried at Cedar Lawn Cemetery, the resting place of Paterson's elite. [WIKIPEDIA] [LIB2431]