Name/Title
Lincoln Memorial Library | Dennysville, MaineDescription
From p. 24, Rebecca W. Hobart, Dennysville, 1786-1986 ... and Edmunds, Too! (Dennysville, Maine: The Dennysville Bicentennial Committee, 1986).
Library
One of the first groups ever organized in the town was the Library Association. It existed for a number of years but, eventually, expired and the books were scattered. In 1868 a new Library Association was formed which remained active until the 1940's. The members of the Association paid annual dues (50 cents in 1940), sponsored money-raising activities, and selected books. Money was usually appropriated at town meeting for the support of the library, and other organizations and individuals contributed to it.
For a number of years, including 1883 and 1912, the Ladies Sewing Circle donated $20.00. On June 1, 1900, there was an entertainment in the Town Hall for the benefit of the library. A part of the program was the representation of a railroad car (The Washington County Railroad had come to Dennysville in 1898). The closing feature was a negro concert with A.E. Lincoln,] .T. Vose, H.E. Philbrook, M.D. Higgins, I.H. Kilby, H.H. Allan, F.L. Gardner, and Prin. G. Averill participating. For several years during the 1930's, Nellie Kilby (Mrs. Keith} sponsored Silver Teas, the proceeds from which were given to the library.
In the early part of the 20th century several descendants of Theodore Lincoln, represented by Alice Tinkham, offered to finance the construction of a library building as a Lincoln Memorial. At an adjourned town meeting, held during the evening of April 22, 1912, it was voted to accept Miss Tinkham's proposition. By June the construction was well under way with considerable progress having been made with the hollow tile walls. By December the building was completed on the lot near the schoolhouse, which was orginally the location of Capt. John Smith's home, and gravel was being hauled to level the grounds around it. The books, which had previously been kept in a back room at Gardner's store and later in the vestry, now had a home of their own. The attractive building not only was a convenient repository for the various volumes, but provided ample space and pleasant surroundings for townspeople who wished to study, read for pleasure, or sign out books for home use.
The Dedication Exercises of the Lincoln Memorial Library were held June 19, 1913, partly in the new building and partly in the Congregational Church. A reception followed in the Town Hall in the evening in honor of Miss Alice S. Tinkham who represented the donors. In November, 1913, a trench was dug by Millard Lyons and Emery Seeley at the Library preparatory to placing a cement walk in the spring. That walk, which masons from St. Stephen laid May 12-16, 1914, remains in almost perfect condition today. They did their work well!
Although records do not indicate by whom the event was sponsored, there was a flag raising on the "Library Green" following the church service on Sunday, May 6, 1917. The same flagpole displayed the flag in that spot until within memory of the present senior citizens. In 1976 a metal pole and American flag were erected in the same location by Mr. and Mrs. Donald Phinney in memory of their son, Franklin, who was serving as selectman at the time of his death.
In 1931, five years after electric lighting was made available for homes and other buildings in Dennysville, the citizens voted that the town should bear the expense of lighting at the Lincoln Memorial Library, providing the lights be installed without expense to the town. Miss Jennie Kilby, librarian for many years, was succeeded by Almeda Gardner (Mrs. Ralph} and Dorothy Stevens (Mrs. Glen).
Since the expiration of the Association, the books have remained idle on the shelves. The building, now used as a Town Office, at least did not suffer the fate of the schoolhouse, but no longer fulfills its original purpose of providing good reading for the information and pleasure of the residents of the community.