About Us...
History
Our story starts in 1950, when we opened our doors to the public.
The Jones Memorial Library, a red-brick Colonial Revival building, is located in Orleans, VT. This library, made possible by a generous endowment from Charles H. Jones and his sister, Ann, was built in 1950 and enlarged in 1989. Although Charles Jones died in 1909, the bequest could not be used until after his wife’s death 34 years later.
In 1873, over 75 years before the attractive building was erected, 17 men organized the Barton Landing Library Association and supported it by yearly dues. Women, who were not allowed at first, were later admitted at half price. When the library was set up in what was known as the post office and shoe store – possibly one owned by Ellis Strafford – books were exchanged with the Barton Village Library.
Around the year 1908, concern for the library needs of the community was expressed with an appointment of five members to serve as a Library Committee. Books comprising the library at that time were stored in an upstairs room in the then existing Beede Block, since burned.
In 1914, when it was known as the Orleans Library, the collection was moved again to three rooms over the Central Savings Bank (currently TD Bank in Orleans) where it remained for 36 years. The Book and Thimble Club gave support to the library and a board of trustees drawn from the membership took charge of the operation.
When Jones’s widow, Jennie Jones Gross, died in 1943, the fund which had been earmarked for a public hospital was not used for that purpose. Instead, it went to build the library, Jones’s second choice. World War II delayed the project for a few years, but the building was ready for the public on January 2, 1950.
The library has two wings. The rear addition, built in 1989, blends with the 1950 building and is physically accessible. The inside includes the original large open room, well-lighted by the tall windows and the new section complements the original library.
Our Staff
- Theresa Reil- Library Director
- Joan Racine – Children’s Librarian
- Mary Wood – Assistant Director