Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Wise Library Owl

Every Wednesday for more than two and a half years Vincent and I have been posting photographs of weather vanes located in or near the Nutfield area (the former name for the land where Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire are now located). Most of them are historically interesting or just whimsical and fun weather vanes. If you know an interesting weather vane that could be photographed for this series, please send me an email or leave a comment below.

Today's weather vane was found somewhere in Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #155? Scroll down to see the answer....

Today's weather vane is located on the cupola above the Hart Free Library building in Townsend, Massachusetts.  When the library closed in 2009 the people of Townsend formed a relay to transfer the library books to the new library building.  The same thing happened back in 1929 when the Hart Free library opened, and the books were moved by a "bucket brigade" of townspeople from the old town hall at Memorial Hall.   This building is now closed, and is located on Route 119, at 276 Main Street. 

According to the book Townsend, by The Townsend Historical Society, published by Acadia Publishing in 2006, page 64:  "In 1923, Charles Hart, a local philanthropist, left $35,000 for a library to be known as the Hart Free Library Building.  Amanda Dwight also left a bequest for the building of a library.  Her disgruntled heirs filed a lawsuit contesting the will, stalling the construction plans.  Ultimately the building would be named after Hart, and the main reading room after Dwight's father, Walter Fessenden."  

In 2007 the Sterilite Corporation gave the town of Townsend a generous gift of a new Highway Department facility, a Senior Center, a Community Meeting Room, and the new Collette Library.  The town was very fortunate to be blessed by so many donors who supported a free public library for Townsend.  The new Townsend Public Library was opened on 31 October 2009 and dedicated to longtime town volunteers Richard and Irene Collette. 

You can read about the Townsend Library Relocation Relay at this article by Nashoba Publishing

http://www.nashobapublishing.com/townsend_news/ci_13469930 

Townsend Public Library   http://www.townsendlibrary.org

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

-----------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/weathervane-wednesday-wise-library-owl.html

Copyright 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo