Miscellany Mondays: Ballardvale Library
A Civic Experiment
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The public library is a defining element of many small cities and towns, including Andover.
Manufacturers John Smith, Peter Smith, and John Dove funded the construction of the town’s Memorial Hall Library on Main Street in 1870. The building doubled as a memorial to those who fought in the Civil War.1
Ballardvale, while always part of Andover, once had a library of its own as well.
On Tuesday, May 6, 1913, Ballardvale opened a branch library in the old Ballardvale District Schoolhouse building at 177 Andover Street.2 It had been vacant since the school moved down the street in 1889, although businesses occupied the basement.3
The first books came from the mill owner Josiah Putnam Bradley. His collection consisted of children's books and fiction with “a sprinkling of popular science, travel, and biography.”4 The town rounded out the library’s inventory by adding duplicates of popular books in the Memorial Hall Library. In total there were 700 volumes on opening day.
For Andover, a branch library was an experiment, as it was a service typically provided only by larger municipalities. The Trustees of Memorial Hall Library appointed a librarian to directly oversee its operation.
They used town funding to renovate the building and add shelving. Intended to be a circulating library and not a reading room, the trustees decided to forgo furniture and buy more books instead.5
Despite the apparent lack of comfort, the library proved to be popular among Ballardvale residents.6 In peak years, they checked out over 1000 books per month, which is large given a collection size of 700 and the fact that the library opened just 36 hours per month.7
Martha Day Byington, the first librarian, enforced the rules laid out by the trustees. No child under the age of 10 could check out a book because of their tendency to mishandle them.8 Coincidentally, due to a measles outbreak, no child could check out books for the first month of operation.9
In a few years’ time, the trustees allotted funds for furniture and provided the library with a reading room. The Ballardvale Village Improvement Society, founded in 1914, further renovated the building to add a community center. The community center had a kitchen, piano, game tables, and seating for 75.10
Byington, well-respected by residents, served for 30 years as librarian. Her work extended well beyond her paid hours. She taught at local schools and women’s clubs and often invited students to her home on High Street for further instruction. Here is an excerpt of a letter written by Ballardvale residents to Byington upon her retirement in 1943:
“During [Miss Byington’s] 29 years as librarian, she has given outstanding service, willingly, gladly, and most efficiently....Love of service has been Miss Byington’s watchword, without regard of compensation….Ballardvale—and Andover—owe a great debt to Miss Byington.”11
Sophye F. Simon succeeded her and then N. Ethel Zink a year later.1213
The Ballardvale branch never fully replaced Memorial Hall. It had a limited book selection and was only a few minute’s drive from the main branch. Instead, the library became more of a community gathering space. It held book discussion teas and other events.14
With declining book circulation over the years, the library dedicated more funding to music and periodicals. According to Nancy Jacobsen, former director of Memorial Hall Library, the entire branch was “like a reading room.”15
On May 14, 1978, the library celebrated its 65th anniversary. Ruth Davis Sharpe, the librarian since 1969, prepared a slideshow to “reminisce about the good old days of Ballardvale.” She brought together a collection of items to supplement the presentation such as flannel from the Ballardvale Mills and bottles from the Ballardvale Lithia Springs Company.16
Despite renewed interest in Ballardvale's history, the town struggled to provide funding for the branch library. In 1980 the town condemned the library building and razed it the next year. The empty lot merged with the adjacent Ballardvale Green founded in 1957.17
In 1981, the library moved to the school building at 195 Andover Street, but still could not be saved. A tight budget forced the town to terminate the branch in 1991, which included laying off several part-time staff.18
Ruth Sharpe served as librarian up until the branch closed. Knowledgeable on Ballardvale history, she conducted much of the research on buildings added to the Ballardvale National Historic Register District. She died in 2003.19
The library is now remembered in Ballardvale Green. A flag pole dedicated to Martha Byington and the library stands on the site of the original building.20
Do you remember the Ballardvale branch library?
Nancy J. Stack, Juliet Haines Mofford, and James Batchelder, “2 North Main Street,” Andover Historic Preservation, Andover Preservation Committee, August 1977, https://preservation.mhl.org/2-north-main-st.
Eleanor, “Ballardvale Library,”, Andover Answers, Memorial Hall Library, March 8, 2006, https://answers.mhl.org/Ballardvale_Library.
Nancy J. Stack, Juliet Haines Mofford, and James Batchelder, “177 Andover Street,” Andover Historic Preservation, Andover Preservation Committee, 1975-77, https://preservation.mhl.org/179-andover-st.
The Andover Townsman, “Ballardvale Branch Library,” The Andover Townsman, May 2, 1913, 4, https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1913-05.pdf.
Ibid.
The Andover Townsman, “Ballardvale,” The Andover Townsman, May 9, 1913, 8, https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1913-05.pdf.
The Andover Townsman, “Miss Byington Retires As Ballardvale Librarian,” The Andover Townsman, February 4, 1943, 5, https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1943-02-04.pdf.
The Andover Townsman, “Ballardvale Branch Library.”
The Andover Townsman, “Ballardvale,” The Andover Townsman, May 16, 1913, 8, https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1913-05.pdf.
Stack, et. al., “177 Andover Street.”
The Andover Townsman, “Miss Byington Retires As Ballardvale Librarian.”
Ibid.
Town of Andover, Annual Report of the Town Officers for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 1944 (Andover, MA: Town of Andover, 1944), 175, https://archive.org/details/annualreporto19401944ando/page/n863/mode/2up.
Eleanor, “Ballardvale Library.”
The Andover Townsman, “Library’s music collection to suffer; Sunday hours to go,” The Andover Townsman, March 7, 1991, 76, https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1991-03-07.pdf.
The Andover Townsman, “Ballardvale In Days Gone By,” The Andover Townsman, May 11, 1978, 4, 37, https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/newspapers/ATM-1978-05-11.pdf.
James S. Batchelder, “173 Andover Street,” Andover Historic Preservation, Andover Preservation Committee, January 23, 2017, https://preservation.mhl.org/173-andover-street.
The Andover Townsman, “Library’s music collection to suffer; Sunday hours to go.”
Nancy J. Stack, Juliet Haines Mofford, Ruth Davis Sharpe, and James S. Batchelder, “197 Andover Street,” Andover Historic Preservation, Andover Preservation Committee, 1975-1977, February 1998, September 29, 2016, https://preservation.mhl.org/197-andover-street.
Batchelder, “173 Andover Street.”
Ruth Sharpe was a real gem. Not only a terrific Librarian, Ruth had an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge of Ballardvale history and geneology. The locals used to say that if "Ruth didn't know it it wasn't worth knowing."