By Marilyn May
Milford History
The Children’s Library shown here in 1965 was closed, and the front lawn temporarily became a parking lot. Photo courtesy of Marilyn May.
Milford has lost many beautiful old houses, but one that so many adults of today remember — and miss the most — is probably the house that was the Children’s Library.
The library was part of the Taylor Library system and was in a graceful, stately Queen Anne-style house on West River Street across from the Town Hall. It was a favorite destination for children from Central Grammar School. Over the years, the old house welcomed hundreds of children at lunchtime and after school. On Saturdays, it was a popular destination for children from many other grammar schools; many children got to know that house.
Going there felt like going “home” to a mansion with lots of rooms just filled with books waiting to be discovered. To the right as you entered was a winding staircase lit by the light filtered through a stained-glass window.
Often the downstairs hallway was decorated with the latest book-reading contest posters. For one contest, you would get a poster with the outline of a suitcase drawn on it. Then as you read a book on any subject, you got a stamp from different countries to represent your “travels” in reading. After so many stamps on your “suitcase,” you won a new book.
Because both the Children’s Library and Central Grammar School were demolished in the late 1960s and 1986, respectively, it’s necessary to explain that the grammar school was located just behind today’s Toulson building, also known as the Yellow Building. A short walk down a sloping sidewalk along the south side of the Toulson Building brought you to the sidewalk leading to the library next door.
Children from many schools enjoyed their time at that library, and moms who were shopping at the nearby A&P grocery would let their youngsters go there while they shopped.
When asked about memories of the Children’s Library, the answers go like this:
“Yes, I discovered ‘The Happy Hollisters’ there. I loved that place.” And, “Yes, I remember that library! It was very convenient (being) next to school.” Other comments were “Yes! I was so happy when I got my very own library card,” and “I remember shelves of books in bright orange covers. They were all biographies, and that’s how I learned about George Washington Carver.”
Of course, not every child had a perfectly happy memory. One person recalled that every Saturday, she, her sister, and the boy next door went there. “The lady was nice but after we got books, we read them and went back for more. The librarian said we couldn’t come back the same day! We were not happy!”
The house was believed to have been constructed in the 1890s by a G.F. Smith, (no relation to G.J. Smith and family). It was owned by James T. Patterson, was later inherited by James T. Patterson Jr., and both families lived there for many years. Patterson, Jr. later became known as J. Tyler Paterson, the 1963 Speaker of the House in the state legislature and well known in Republican circles. He was born in Milford, but later resided in Old Lyme.
In 1936 he sold the house to the town for $11,000. By 1965 there were plans to tear it down and put up a building for the growing town municipal offices.
Marilyn May is a lifelong resident of Milford and is on the board of the Milford Historical Society.
What a charming story, and of course, we’re delighted to see The Happy Hollisters mentioned in the patron’s memories! Thank you!