Women and a Home

First Congregational Church, Brookfield, VT

All the fun came to a screeching halt in Brookfield, VT when Selinda Griswold decided she wanted to borrow books from the library chest.  Selinda was the daughter of Howard Griswold and had been attending the library auctions to help her dad bid out the books.  After the official auctions, Selinda would look over the remaining books, make her selections and have her father borrow them.  

Howard Griswold, however, was a supporter of women’s rights and in 1850 made a motion to allow women to bid on their own books.  The other men, not wanting to be rude, but hardly jumping for joy, agreed. The Brookfield men’s club was over, invaded by the womenfolk who probably would want to discuss the books for hours over cups of strong tea.  As a gender, we seem to be determined to spoil the fun.

Selinda was criticized for being so unladylike as to appear in public alone (which I suppose means ‘without other women’ because there certainly were lots of other men present).  I suspect hanging out in the tavern with the men, even though one of them was her dad, wasn’t considered genteel.  After a few meetings, Selinda was joined by her sisters and, eventually, a few more women gathered their courage and joined them.

Fortunately, in 1867 the library chest moved from the course environment of the tavern to the more suitable setting of the vestry of the Congregational Church.  That must have been a sad day for patrons who enjoyed a beverage or two while they bid for their books.  And in 1881, it moved again, this time to the Masonic Hall.  

It wasn’t until June 7, 1902 that the library was finally made free and public.  The books were moved to the Town Hall and, in 1916, the auction format was discontinued and the library opened once a week for patrons to check out books.

In 1940 Brookfield resident Anna Clark Jones willed her home to the library. After all the years of chaos and disruption the library finally had a place of its own to call home.  The house was renovated to accommodate the books and has stayed put ever since.  No one is complaining about the lighting, the children’s room or the technology.  No one is raising taxes to get LEED certified or commission a historic sculpture in the reading garden.  There are no logos, posters or advertising campaigns convincing residents to come to the library.  There are no lattes.

There is just a small white clapboard cottage in the center of town with a large room for books, a room that is a lot bigger than a wooden box.  And after 221 years, the people in Brookfield know a perfect set up when they see it.