Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Building, Education

Location

13 Broad St, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA

Lat/Long

42.826528, -75.543216

Grant Recipient

Route 20 Association of New York State

By 1902, Hamilton, NY was a thriving academic town with Colgate University, the Colgate Academy, and until 1891 the Hamilton Female Seminary. However, the town did not yet have a public library. Nearby towns, like Canastota, were taking advantage of Andrew Carnegie’s library grants. In Hamilton, two women’s organizations- the Hamilton Fortnightly Club and the Faithful Circle of Kings Daughters- were working separately on how to establish a library. The Hamilton Republican ran an article on October 9, 1902, detailing the discussions of the Fortnightly Club on how to go about legally creating a free public library, and their formation of a committee that would work with state and local authorities to accomplish their goal. In November, the King’s Daughters heard about the Fortnightly Club’s plans, and by December they had given up on the Carnegie route and the two groups joined forces to form the Hamilton Library Association. They both began fundraising for a library.

The Fortnightly Club’s committee presented their proposal for a public library to the Village Trustees on December 2, 1902. They hoped that the proposition would be passed in the March 1903 Election, but only a small portion of the local men participated in voting on the issue, and it failed to be passed.

Following the failed vote, the Library Association forged ahead and worked on renting space in the former Hamilton Female Seminary at 52 Broad St. In April of 1903 the library opened, with the collection mostly coming from donations or the Library Association’s members. In 1905, the Association finally succeeded in getting the proposition to add library funding to the tax rolls passed by vote.

By 1914 the library was becoming very cramped and running out of space. According to the Minutes of the Library Trustee’s June 20, 1914, meeting, they planned to buy the “Fairchild house”, just up the street at 13 Broad St. They purchased and renovated the former home of Fannie Fairchild, and by November of 1914 they had moved in and opened it to the public again. They have operated out of this location since.