This weekend, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Joseph H. Plumb Library, but Rochester’s libraries go back much further than that. There was an historical piece on “Rochester Libraries” printed in the “Evening Star” in December of 1897. Written by John S. Ryder, it stated that Rochester had a library in the early 1800s. It was called the “Rochester Historical Library” and was more of a private library for men who were interested in the value of education and progressive thought. Books were very costly at that time; a lending library was out of the question.
In the mid-1800s, for a short time, there was a library connected to the Rochester Academy. It was open to the public, but it closed when the school closed.
Now, enter the “ladies.” The first was Elizabeth Leonard, wife of Charles H. Leonard. In 1876, she gifted the town $2,000 in “books, fixtures, and a permanent endowment,” and on August 19, 1876, the “Rochester Free Public Library” opened in the unused Academy building’s north recitation room. The library had over 800 books free for townspeople to borrow, and many availed themselves of the privilege.
Fifteen years later, Mrs. Leonard felt the growing collection of books deserved a proper building. She again gave a sizable amount to the town to enlarge Town Hall with the caveat that a suitable section (the old assessors’ office) would be included. When she died in 1901, her will established an endowment fund for the library’s future.
Elizabeth Leonard was the first of two Rochester women to provide quality library service to Rochester. In 1976, Mrs. Dorothy B. Plumb donated land and money for a new, freestanding library named after her late husband, Joseph H. Plumb. This building is now 50 years old. Over the past 50 years, it has been ably led by library directors who have stayed true to the beliefs of the two women who believed in the importance of books and the buildings that house them.
By Connie Eshbach
