1908 Library, Norfolk, Connecticut

[LIB8019] - Addressed to Mrs. M(inot). E. (Stella) Chatfield, New Haven, Connecticut. Postmarked New Haven and Waterbury. (Stella Stowe Russell).

This building is still in use as a public library. Miss Isabella Eldridge established the Norfolk Library as a memorial to her parents, The Reverend Joseph and Sarah Battell Eldridge, and presented it to the town of Norfolk in 1889. Her hope was that it would be a meeting ground for the community rather than just an institution and it has maintained the character she gave it through all the years of its existence. It serves not only as a storehouse of reading for instruction and pleasure, but also as a meeting site for various clubs and groups.

Mr. George Keller of Hartford was the architect for the building which first opened on March 6, 1889. At the time it was built, the structure went no farther than the north-south corridor of alcoves. The Great Hall, additional stacks, and the back alcove, also designed by Keller, were added in 1911, again the gift of Isabella Eldridge. [Website]