Home of the Free: Simsbury library sustains historic legacy
This story first appeared in the December 2024 edition of Today Magazine, our monthly publication
By Bruce William Deckert — Today Magazine • Editor-in-Chief
ESTABLISHED in 1874, the Simsbury Free Library served as Simsbury’s public library until 1986, when a newly built structure became the distinct Simsbury Public Library, funded and operated by the town — the Free Library continued in its own building as a nonprofit research institution funded by donations, grants, membership fees and the like.
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In the century-plus that the Free Library edifice was utilized as the town’s public library, “thousands of children and adults passed through the building in search of entertainment, knowledge and enlightenment,” notes the Simsbury Free Library website.
The “Free” appellation distinguished the new institution from subscription libraries, prevalent in those days, that required members to pay fees. Such paid-subscription libraries were typical in the 1800s, according to various historians.
The first subscription library in North America actually started in 1731, per multiple online sources, and was called the Library Company of Philadelphia — perhaps the location gives a telling clue about the founder, who is indeed considered one of the founding fathers of the United States.
Who was this library pioneer? None other than Benjamin Franklin.
Utilizing technical anniversary nomenclature, the Simsbury Free Library is celebrating its sesquicentennial — for the uninitiated, a sesquicentennial is synonymous with a 150th anniversary.
Let’s address a technicality connected with this library milestone: Depending on one’s perspective, a case could be made that 2024 is not actually the 150th anniversary of the Simsbury Public Library.
Such an assertion seems ridiculous, because this edition’s cover story focuses precisely on the Simsbury library’s sesquicentennial.
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This is a classic example of a common enough phenomenon: Depending on one’s viewpoint, two seemingly contradictory statements can be accurate. Yes, when two perspectives are equitably considered, two truths can equally be perceived and agreed upon, even as a corollary reality holds true: There are likewise absolute and universal distinctions between truth and falsehood — for example, while it’s true that Canton CT and Canton MA share a name, it’s false to assert they are one-and-the-same town.
Specifically, regarding this library milestone — the following statements can be demonstrated, substantially proved, and reasonably established as true:
• The Simsbury Free Library was founded in 1874.
• The Simsbury Public Library was likewise established in 1874 — since the Public Library is an extension of the Free Library and is rooted in that original Simsbury library — yet it’s also true that the Public Library was established in 1986, when the new building was constructed and the two libraries became distinct entities.
Someone could be a stickler for strict accuracy and insist that the Simsbury Public Library wasn’t founded or established in 1874, and presumably a case could be made since this is technically correct. But given the reality of library history, this view appears to be overly and unnecessarily legalistic.
“Today, the Free Library enjoys a collegial relationship with the Simsbury Public Library, but operates as an unaffiliated private, nonprofit institution,” says the Free Library website.
Further true Free Library facts are connected to the 19th-century benefactor who funded the original library.
Amos R. Eno, a wealthy real-estate investor, provided a tremendous endowment to launch the Simsbury Free Library. Amos and his wife Lucy Jane Phelps Eno were both Simsbury natives. Under the terms of the Eno trust, the library has been managed by an independent unpaid board of 10 volunteer trustees ever since.
When the Free Library debuted in 1874, its home was in the Hop Meadow District School. In 1890 a new Colonial Revival building was completed and dedicated — the same stately place that is the library’s home to this day. Amos and Lucy Eno were unable to attend the dedication, but William Phelps Eno (their youngest son) was there as a library trustee and read a letter from his father.
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"Everyone owes something to his birthplace … The influences that surrounded my youth were owing to the excellent character of the people in this town" — Amos Eno
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“This gift is due to the town of Simsbury from me,” Amos wrote. “It was my fortune to be born here among you. Everyone owes something to his birthplace. … The influences that surrounded my youth were owing to the excellent character of the people in this town.”
Since the advent of the Public Library, people cannot borrow books from the Free Library. However, the renowned enterprise remains an essential research and cultural resource for citizens in town and statewide. In this vein, the library houses three key archival assets:
• Simsbury Genealogical and Historical Research Library
• William Phelps Eno Memorial Center — he is known internationally as the Father of Traffic Safety
• Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense corporate archives — founded in 1836, Simsbury-based Ensign-Bickford has worked closely with NASA and is the oldest business in the Farmington Valley •
The Free Library is also the site of the Martin Luther King in CT Memorial. Located on the library’s front lawn, the memorial celebrates the life of the iconic civil-rights leader who spent two teenage summers working in Simsbury. The MLK in CT Memorial is an official stop on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
Moreover, the Simsbury Free Library is listed on Connecticut’s State Register of Historic Places and the National Registry of Historic Places, per the Free Library website.
“The most endearing comments [from library-goers] are related to people who remember when they were younger and were frequent visitors,” says Tara Willerup, vice chair of the library’s board of trustees — she notes that area residents “appreciate that our library is still here and available to them.”
Her husband Jay Willerup is an architect who donated his time to help design the MLK in CT Memorial. +
Today Magazine features community news that matters nationwide while covering the heart of the Farmington Valley and beyond — Avon • Canton • Farmington • Granby • Simsbury
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