LIBRARY HISTORY AND HIGHLIGHTS

In 1993 it was obvious that the Library of the Stonington Historical Society needed more space for both its collections and its patrons. It was then located in a basement room under the new wing of the Stonington Free Library. Various sites were considered and rejected. When the Society bought the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House and surrounding land, it was decided that the new library building should be on this site.

In time, at the suggestion of an architect friend, Bartholomew Voorsanger, AIA, of New York and Stonington, we initiated an architectural competition for this building. Thirty-two architects were invited to participate; of these 16 responded, and from these 8 were chosen to submit designs for this project. With the help of Bart Voorsanger and Alan Plattus of Yale University School of Architecutre, the architectural committee made a short-list of three candidates, and from this list the winner was chosen.

Turner Brooks and his wife, Eeva Pelkonnen, were the winning team. Both are on the staff of Yale's School of Architecture, and have had experience with designing public buildings. Working closely with the architectural committee, they developed a design which is innovative, poetic and very workable. With the idea that this building should resemble a ship casting off to Antarctica, in the mode of the sealing fleet of 1820 in which Captain Palmer captained the Hero, they designed a building with canted angles, which houses the collection admirably, leaving room for expansion, and with good working space for researchers.

In addition, this building boasts a darkroom and a photo research room, both named for Maurice LaGrua, as well as a work and storage area in the basement. The collection is visible to the public through a wire mesh wall, opposite which are attractive vitrines (showcases). These changing exhibits highlight the library's collections and Stonington's history and people.

Because the building is in a 100 year flood zone, it was built on a raised platform with a waterproof membrane under the basement level. So far it has withstood the heaviest rains.

A fund-raising committee worked for three years to raise the money to pay for this building and to establish an endowment fund for the Society's activities. The family of James Merrill, a Stonington inhabitant since the 1950's, and a world-recognized poet, collectively gave substantial money to this effort, so that the reading room bears his name, and two of the vitrines (showcases) are dedicated to his memory.

There is a large collection of portraits in the reading room, all belonging to the Stonington Historical Society. Previously these had been stored in less than archival conditions, in damp basements, or in attics torrid in summer and freezing in winter. These have been admirably restored by Ruth Gulliver of the Artists Guild and Gallery of Charlestown, Rhode Island. One gallery wall was named for Anne Jones Fuller (1908-1994), who supported the restoration of the portrait collection and who herself ran the Stonington Art Gallery in Stonington Borough from 1965-1985.

The building is handicapped accessible through a long ramp on the outside from the parking lot to the front door, and is heated and cooled with an archivally suited HVAC system. The building was built by Yankee Remodelers of New London.

As of this writing the library is staffed by volunteers, but it is hoped that in time there will be a full-time trained librarian in charge of this collection.

Take a photo tour of the library

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