Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923), author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903) as well as numerous other titles of acclaim in the United States and abroad, purchased a building that would become the Village Circulating Library and Tea Room in Hollis, Maine. The building was old and neglected, but with renovation, fresh paint and the addition of tiny pane windows, the building was given a renewed purpose as a village library.

The library, which was located on the second floor, was opened to the public in 1911 had nearly 2000 volumes. The bottom floor served as a summer kindergarten, which was established by Kate Douglas Wiggin and her sister, Nora Archibald Smith. When Nora passed away in 1934, she bequeathed the library building and its contents to the town of Hollis. In her bequest, she stipulated that Hollis maintain this building as a library for many years to come.

Photographs used courtesy of Salmon Falls Library in Hollis, Maine. Special thanks to Lynn Ericson, Library Director Salmon Falls Library.

Source:

Olive W. Hannaford and Martin Jewett. A History of Hollis, Maine. Farmington, ME: Knowlton and McLeary Co, 1976.