The History of Sturgis Library

 

By

Molly Jebber

Amish Historical Romance Author

The Sturgis Library was constructed in 1944 for Reverend John Lothrop. The library was inside his house and it's the oldest library building the United States. It's located on Cape Cod in the village of Barnstable. Later on February 25, 1782, a direct descendant of Reverend John Lothrop, William Sturgis, was born in the same house. Later in his life, he will the home and $15,000 in bonds to the village of Barnstable to construct a new library. In 1867, the new library opened, and it contained over 1,300 volumes. Many of these volumes came from his private library.

Today, Sturgis Library is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is known as one of the ten most scenic byways in America. The collections in the library are over 65,000. The library also has the Cape Cod Collection of History books, microfilm, historic manuscripts, and film. This library houses the Kittridge Maritime Collections which is one of the best collections on the east coast for information on historic sea captains and vessels from Cape Cod. The library also has the genealogy collection for John Lothrop's history which is used by genealogists all over the country to explore any connections to Cape Cod's history. 

Hundreds of ancestors who have found a tie to the Lothrop and Sturgis families visit each this library each year. The library carries the Barnstable Patriot newspaper archives contain articles and information from 1836-2017. The Register newspaper archives contain articles and information for the years of 1836-2017. The newspapers cover the areas of Barnstable, Dennis, and Yarmouth, Massachusetts. 

I love libraries, and I enjoyed researching the Sturgis Library. Maybe you or someone you know is from this area. I hope you've enjoyed learning about this library along with me!

Don't forget to mark your calendar for November 15th for the HHH Madness fun on Facebook! 

 Liza suffered a bad marriage to her Amish husband who was murdered. She vows never to marry again, but Jacob needs her help with his teenage daughter. Together, they face danger and unpleasant circumstances trying to help Ellie, his daughter. Will Jacob win Liza's heart? She won't marry him without Ellie's approval, which doesn't seem likely. 

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