Royalton Memorial Library

Historic building in Royalton, Vermont

Royalton Memorial Library

43°49′06″N 72°31′11″W﻿ / ﻿43.818301°N 72.519586°W﻿ / 43.818301; -72.519586
Location| 57 Safford St., South Royalton, Vermont
Type| Municipal public library
Established| 1917
Other information
Director| Tyler Strong[1]
Website| www.royaltonlibrary.org
Built| 1919–24
Architect| Louis Sheldon Newton
Architectural style(s)| Colonial Revival

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Designated| September 3, 1976
Part of| South Royalton Historic District
Reference no.| #76000200 [2]

The Royalton Memorial Library is a public library in South Royalton, Vermont. The library organization was founded in 1917; its building was built from 1919 to 1924 and was expanded in 2020.

## Design

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The building is located at the corner of Alexander Place and Safford Street, named for resident Truman Henry Safford.[3]

The building was designed for the Royalton Memorial Library Association in the Colonial Revival style by Louis Sheldon Newton, a locally-born architect.[3] It was originally a 1.5-story brick structure, with a tall cement basement. The exterior is decorated with cement quoins, and the roof is hipped, with three gabled dormers, on the northwest, northeast, and southeast sides. The southwest elevation has a pedimented gabled entrance portico. The doorway includes a door flanked by sidelights, all beneath a semi-elliptical arched fan light.[4]

The building's first floor has a welcoming feel to it, with a brick fireplace, armchairs, and a classically detailed archway into another space, formerly housing the children's area, and prior to that, the town historical society. The ground floor formerly held town offices, and became derelict and unusable, only housing surplus books, until the library's 2019 renovation.[3]

## History

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The Royalton Memorial Library Association was founded in 1917, led by Evelyn Lovejoy. She became the first woman elected to public office in the town of Royalton in 1912, when she was elected to the board of trustees of the now-defunct Royalton Free Public Library, in the village of Royalton.[3]

The current-day library broke ground in 1919, with the exterior nearly completed by 1921, when funds ran out. Lovejoy, a teacher at Royalton Academy, canvassed individuals and businesses for pledges for the building's construction, and donated the proceeds from her book, The History of Royalton, to the library construction fund.[3]

In 1976, the library building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, as a contributing part of the new South Royalton Historic District.[5]

In 2016, the library hosted a small exhibit about Louis Sheldon Nelson, architect of the building and other local landmarks, including the present-day look of the Old Constitution House.[6]

In 2017, the Royalton Memorial Library Association celebrated its 100th anniversary on the South Royalton Green. The event included a performance by the South Royalton Town Band as well as free cake.[3] Also in 2017, the library began to be overwhelmed by book donations, and the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration necessitated a renovation to make the building handicap-accessible, or it would force the building's closure.[3]

From April 2019 to February 2020, a two-story addition to the library was constructed.[7] Architect Jay White was commissioned, chosen for his desire to preserve historic details.[3] The project was approved in 2017 and cost $737,500, and created a 1,500 sq ft (140 m2) space for a children's room, maker space, meeting room, kitchenette, staff office, two bathrooms, an elevator, and a new entrance at ground-level, giving it ADA accessibility.[7] The reopening was held on February 15, 2020.[8] The expanded library was open for shortly over a month when the COVID-19 pandemic forced another temporary closure.[5] The Ensign Peak Foundation donated to the renovation, in an agreement for the library to install a plaque in the library's history room in memorial of Joseph Smith, who was born about four miles away.[9]

## See also

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* National Register of Historic Places listings in Windsor County, Vermont

## References

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1. ^ "Board & Staff".
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Library celebrating centennial fights to stay open". Associated Press. June 19, 2017.
4. ^ John P. Dumville (1976). "NRHP nomination for South Royalton Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved August 22, 2016. with photographs from 1976
5. ^ a b Sauchelli, Liz (January 30, 2022). "Supply chain, funding challenges complicate Upper Valley library renovations". Valley News. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
6. ^ "Art Notes: Exhibition Looks Back at Local Architect". April 13, 2016.
7. ^ a b Corriveau, David (February 10, 2020). "Renovated Royalton Memorial Library almost ready to be checked out". Valley News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
8. ^ "South Royalton library reopens". March 10, 2020.
9. ^ "New plaque in Royalton Memorial Library honors the Prophet Joseph's contribution to Vermont history". December 18, 2020.

## External links

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* Official website
* Thesis about the library and its involvement with the Joseph Smith Birthplace

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National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Vermont

National
Historic
Landmarks|

* Calvin Coolidge Homestead District
* George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home
* Robbins and Lawrence Armory and Machine Shop
* Stellafane Observatory

Districts|

* Advent Camp Meeting Grounds Historic District
* Ascutney Mill Dam Historic District
* Ascutney State Park
* Bethel Village Historic District
* Theron Boyd Homestead
* Brigham Hill Historic District
* Brook Farm
* Chester Village Historic District
* Christian Street Rural Historic District
* Coolidge State Park
* Fletcher–Fullerton Farm
* Goodrich Four Corners Historic District
* Hartford Village Historic District
* Jericho Rural Historic District
* King Farm
* Ludlow Village Historic District
* Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
* Gen. Lewis R. Morris House
* Norwich Mid-Century Modern Historic District
* Norwich Village Historic District
* Parker Hill Rural Historic District ‡
* Plymouth Historic District
* Quechee Historic Mill District
* Isaac M. Raymond Farm
* Saddlebow Farm
* Slayton–Morgan Historic District
* South Royalton Historic District
* South Woodstock Village Historic District
* Southview Housing Historic District
* Springfield Downtown Historic District
* Stockbridge Common Historic District
* Stone Village Historic District
* Taftsville Historic District
* Terraces Historic District
* Weathersfield Center Historic District
* West Hartford Village Historic District
* Weston Village Historic District
* White River Junction Historic District
* Wilder Village Historic District
* Wilgus State Park
* Windsor Village Historic District
* Woodstock Village Historic District

Buildings|

| Commercial|

* Aiken Stand Complex
* Fox Stand
* F. H. Gillingham & Sons
* Locust Creek House Complex
* Charles Marsh Law Office
* Pollard Block
* Progressive Market
* Simons' Inn
* Windsor House

|

Educational|

* Abbott Memorial Library
* Beaver Meadow School
* Black River Academy
* Eureka Schoolhouse
* Hartford Library
* Ludlow Graded School
* Park Street School
* Root School
* South Reading Schoolhouse
* Spencer Hollow School

Government|

* Damon Hall
* Fire District No. 2 Firehouse
* Reading Town Hall

Industrial|

* Bridgewater Woolen Mill
* Royalton Mill Complex

Religious|

* Beaver Meadow Union Chapel
* Cavendish Universalist Church
* Congregational Church of Ludlow
* Old Christ Church
* St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Residential|

* Atherton Farmstead
* Augustus and Laura Blaisdell House
* Twing Buckman House
* Rev. George Daman House
* Dewey House
* Wentworth and Diana Eldredge House
* Ezekiel Emerson Farm
* Farrar-Mansur House
* Joseph Fessenden House
* Reverend Dan Foster House
* Fowler-Steele House
* Gate of the Hills
* Daniel Gay House
* Glimmerstone
* Greenwood House
* Harrington House
* Hartness House
* Jeffrey House
* Wales N. Johnson House
* Juniper Hill Farm-Maxwell Evarts House
* Lockwood-Boynton House
* Luce Farm
* Maple Hill Farm
* Joseph and Daniel Marsh House
* McKenstry Manor
* Meeting House Farm
* Owen Moon Farm
* NAMCO Block
* Old Constitution House
* Aaron Jr. and Susan Parker Farm
* Zachariah Spaulding Farm
* Walter and Sylvia Stockmayer House
* Jedediah Strong II House
* David Sumner House
* John Wilder House

Object|

* Indian Stones

Sites|

* Gilbert's Hill
* Historic Crown Point Road

Structures|

* Best's Covered Bridge
* Bowers Covered Bridge
* Bridge 15
* Bridgewater Corners Bridge
* Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge‡
* Gilead Brook Bridge
* Gould's Mill Bridge
* Iron Bridge at Howard Hill Road
* Kendron Brook Bridge
* Lincoln Covered Bridge
* Martin's Mill Covered Bridge
* Ottauquechee River Bridge
* Quechee Gorge Bridge
* Spaulding Bridge
* Stockbridge Four Corners Bridge
* Taftsville Covered Bridge
* Upper Falls Covered Bridge
* West Hartford Bridge
* West Woodstock Bridge
* Willard Covered Bridge
* Woodstock Warren Through Truss Bridge

Footnotes|

‡This historic property also has portions in an adjacent state.

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Windsor County, Vermont and List of National Historic Landmarks in Vermont
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