Valley Heritage Driving Tour

Derby Neck Library

Back on Hawthorne Avenue, on the left is located the yellow stucco building housing the Carnegie-funded Derby Neck Library. The Library was started in 1897 by local industrialist Wilbur Fisk Osborne, who donated $50 for books for the Derby Neck School.

By 1900, the collection housed on the school's second floor had grown to 1,350, and an Association was formed to raise funds for the library by holding fairs and entertainments. When the collection reached 3,000 volumes, it was feared that the school floor would collapse, so Mr. Osborne contacted Andrew Carnegie to solicit funds to construct a building. Mr. Carnegie contributed $3,000 toward the construction of the building as long as the city would contribute a modest yearly amount toward its operation.

William Downes donated the land for the library, and Frederick Trowbridge donated $1,000. Mr. Osborne never lived to see the completed building, as he died six months before construction was completed. On his death, his daughter Frances Osborne Kellogg took over as president of the library association.

An addition doubling the size of the library was constructed in 1973, and a second addition doubling the structure yet again is presently under construction.

Take a right and go to the bottom of E. Street, and then turn left onto Roosevelt Drive (Rt. 34).

Previous

Next