Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Arts & Culture, Education

Location

3717 Lake Shore Dr, Diamond Point, NY 12824, USA

Lat/Long

43.481387, -73.686561

Grant Recipient

Hillview Free Library

Around 1895, a voluntary library association was formed in the hamlet of Diamond Point, located on Lake George in Warren County, New York, after Jennie K. (Mrs. E. Luther) Hamilton donated a small collection of books to be circulated among the association members. Many of the association members were residents of New York City who owned summer cottages on the lake. The library collection was first housed above a store in Diamond Point, and later in the living room of one of the association members. As the collection grew, more space was needed, so around 1899, the association purchased a former schoolhouse on a small plot of land in Diamond Point. The members paid to adapt the old schoolhouse to be used as a library building.

On October 9, 1901, the library association resolved to organize as a free library “for the free use of the inhabitants of Hill-View.” They adopted a constitution and resolved to apply to the Regents of the University of the State of New York to be officially incorporated as a free library. They were granted a charter from the Regents on December 19, 1901.

In the spring of 1902, work was begun on a significant expansion of the library consisting of a stone reading room adjoining the front of the former schoolhouse building. The new stone portion of the library measured twenty by thirty feet, and was designed by architect J. Dickinson Hunter, Jr. The expansion cost about $5,000 and was completed and opened in August 1903.

In the late 1960s, another expansion of the library was necessitated due to its continued growth, and a modern addition was built on the back of the building. As of 2022, the Hillview Free Library continues to serve Diamond Point and the surrounding community.