Ellsworth Public Library

The Ellsworth Public Library is the public library serving Ellsworth, Maine.[1] It is located at 20 State Street in the city's central business district in a historically and architecturally significant Federal style house built in 1817, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Ellsworth Public Library
CountryUnited States
TypePublic
Established1897
LocationEllsworth, Maine
Collection
Size41,000
Access and use
Circulation162,000
Population served7,741
Other information
Budget$650,579
Staff9
Websitewww.ellsworth.lib.me.us
Map

History

The Federal-style building was built in 1817 by Colonel Meltiah Jordan and is commonly known as the Tisdale House[2] after Seth Tisdale, one of its owners. The house has been a public library since 1897[3] when George Nixon Black gave the remodeled building to the City of Ellsworth with the enduring condition "That the premises conveyed shall be always used for a public library."[4]

A three-story addition, designed by Bingham & Woodward and financed by a municipal bond issued by the City of Ellsworth, was completed in 1991.[5]

Architecture

The library is set facing roughly southeast on the west side of State Street (between it and the Union River), just south of the old Hancock County Jail (now a historical society museum), and across the street from Ellsworth City Hall. It is a two story wood frame structure, with a low hip roof topped by an octagonal cupola and ringed by a low balustrade. The walls are sheathed in clapboards. The front facade is five bays wide with a center entrance sheltered by a Greek Revival portico supported by four fluted Doric columns and topped by a low balustrade. The right side facade is dominated by a large Palladian window that fills the center bay. There are pilasters at the corners of the building. The house was built in 1817 by Colonel Meltiah Jordan for his son Benjamin.[6]

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (as "Col. Meltiah Jordon[sic] House") in 1974.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Ellsworth Public Library - Ellsworth, ME [lib-web-cats 2887]". Librarytechnology.org. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  2. "Public library, Ellsworth, Maine, former Tisdale house (image, 1900s)". [WorldCat.org]. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  3. "Ellsworth Maine Public Library Centennial 1897 RG cachet event cover". Postalhistorystore.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  4. "Woodlawn Museum: Curious George: Woodlawn's Enigmatic Benefactor" (PDF). Woodlawnmuseum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  5. "Here We Grow again!" (PDF). Ellsworthamerican.com. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  6. "NRHP nomination for Col. Meltiah Jordon[sic] House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  7. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
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