Simsbury Free Library

Beginning in 1874 the Simsbury Free Library (SFL) served as the public library for the Town of Simsbury. The designation “Free” was used to distinguish it from the subscription libraries that were common at that time. Under the terms of the Eno trust, the library was operated by an independent, unpaid board of ten trustees. In 1970 the Town of Simsbury assumed financial responsibility for the public library and began to lease the building from the trustees. In 1986 the town responded to increasing library use caused by population growth by opening the new, municipally-owned and operated Simsbury Public Library one block away. The SFL enjoys a collegial relationship with the Simsbury Public Library, but is an unaffiliated private institution that is dedicated to serving the public.

During its years as a public library countless thousands of children and adults passed through the building in search of entertainment, knowledge and enlightenment. Today the SFL still is a vital cultural resource for Simsbury and the surrounding communities. A non-profit institution run by its unpaid board of ten trustees, the SFL is sustained by its endowment, grants, donations and membership and user fees.

The SFL building is now home to the: 

These three collections are open to the public Thursdays - Saturday 9:30 am - 3:30 pm and by appointment. They are managed by Library Director and Archivist Allison B. Krug. The library welcomes volunteers.

The SFL building also houses the:

The Architecture of the Building

 The SFL collection was moved in 1890 to the present building, which was designed by noted Hartford architect Melvin H. Hapgood and donated by Amos R. Eno. Mr. Eno’s daughter, Antoinette Eno Wood, donated the rear addition in 1924 and many other improvements.

The building is a remarkable example of the Colonial Revival architectural style that was popular in New England during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and it has many features inspired by the earlier American Renaissance and Federal styles. The front of the building has a pair of Palladian windows flanking a columned porch at the main entry and a stone plaque over the entry porch engraved with the words “Simsbury Free Library.” Many of the windows have leaded glass panes, including the fanlight in the recessed tympanum over the stone plaque. The two chimneys have barrel vaulted caps and the roof is copper shingle.

Inside, the entrance foyer opens into an exquisite reading room with a large fireplace. Many volumes from the original collection line the walls.  Paintings, statuettes and a grandfather clock donated by the Eno family are also on display. After the removal of the public library collection, the building underwent extensive renovation and was restored to a historically accurate appearance. In 1991, it was added to the Connecticut Register of Historic Places.  In 1996, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District Property.  

Event Rental

The first floor of Simsbury Free Library building is available to members of the Simsbury Genealogical and Historical Research Library and to non-profit organizations to use for meetings and events.

Interesting Sites Relevant to the Eno Family

Simsbury Cemetery 

The SFL grounds are adjacent to the historic Simsbury Cemetery, which has gravestones dating from 1688 to the present. It is the final resting place for Amos Richards Eno and his wife, Lucy Jane Phelps Eno, and many members of their family, including Antoinette Eno Wood, William Phelps Eno and their older brother, Amos F. Eno, a major benefactor of the New York Public Library. Many of the earlier gravestones are significant examples of periods in mortuary art. Those interred there include veterans all of America’s wars, including the French and Indian, Revolutionary, and Civil War.

The SFL has published Simsbury Cemetery Gravestone Inscriptions, Simsbury, Connecticut, 1688-2000, Volume I: The Old Section compiled by Joyce A. Cahill.

Eno Memorial Hall 

Across Hopmeadow Street from the SFL is the Eno Memorial Hall, a red brick, white columned Colonial Revival building which opened in 1932. It was given posthumously to the town by Antoinette Eno Woods in memory of her parents, Lucy Jane Phelps and Amos Richards Eno. For many years Eno Memorial Hall served Simsbury as its town hall as well as a community center and the home of the Abigail Phelps Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, for which Mrs. Wood had served as regent.

Only one town office remains, the Social Services Department, but the multi-functional public building is still the home of the D.A.R. It also houses Simsbury Community Television, Inc. (SCTV: Channels 5, 21, 22) and the Simsbury Senior Center. Its auditorium is the venue for entertainments and cultural programs.

Simsbury 1820 House 

Now an elegant country inn, the house on a rise half a block south of the SFL was built by Elisha Phelps, the father of Lucy Jane Phelps, wife of Amos R. Eno. Mr. Phelps was a judge and congressman and his father, Noah Phelps, was a Revolutionary War hero. After Elisha Phelps died, Lucy and Amos Eno purchased the house from his other heirs and used it as their summer home. Both they and their daughter Antoinette modified and enlarged it. One summer it saw the birth of their grandson, Gifford Pinchot, who became the first head of the U.S. Forestry Department and Governor of Pennsylvania. The building is now on the National Register of Historic Places. 

For more about the history of the Simsbury 1820 House, go to: http://simsbury1820house.com/about.html

Phelps Tavern Museum 

Owned by the Simsbury Historical Society, this house two blocks north of the SFL was built in 1771 by the brother of Revolutionary War hero Noah Phelps and owned by him for a time. It served during several periods as a tavern.

For more about the history of the house, go to: http://www.simsburyhistory.org/buildings/tavern.html

Community Farm of Simsbury

In 1883 the Town of Simsbury accepted the gift of a farm from Amos R. Eno “for the support and care” of the town’s poor. Today the farmhouse and a portion of its original acreage are preserved by the Community Farm of Simsbury, Inc. 

It is located at 71 Wolcott Road, about 3.2 miles northeast of the Simsbury Free Library.

For more about the farm, go to: http://www.communityfarmofsimsbury.org

Key Events in Simsbury Free Library History

1872 Members of a Simsbury social and literary club begin to promote the idea of establishing a public library for the town and to give fundraising events.
1874 Amos R. Eno establishes a trust to fund a free library for the Town of Simsbury and appoints ten trustees. Thereafter, the SFL serves as Simsbury’s public library and is located initially in the Hop Meadow District School.
1890 Dedication of Simsbury Free Library building.
1924  Completion of the library building addition, a gift from Antoinette Eno Wood, the daughter of Amos and Lucy Jane Phelps Eno. Mrs. Wood also provided the decorative balustrade in front of the building.
1970  Simsbury Tercentennial Celebrated. Town of Simsbury assumes financial responsibility for the operation of the library and rents the SFL building from the trustees.
1986 SFL retains independent private status as Town of Simsbury establishes Simsbury Public Library in newly constructed building.
1986  Farmington Valley Watershed Association occupies second floor of the SFL building, including the FVWA’s Audubon Library collection.
1988  The Simsbury Genealogical and Historical Research Library (SGHRL) opens in the SFL building’s English basement. It is supported financially by its members and the SFL.
1991 
 Major renovation and restoration of SFL building completed. SGHRL moves to a portion of refurbished first floor.
1991  SFL building listed on the State of Connecticut Register of Historic Places.
1992 
 The Eno Foundation for Transportation entrusts the furnishings, artifacts and library from William Phelps Eno’s former office to the SFL. The William Phelps Eno Memorial Center is dedicated. It occupies the north end of the SFL’s main reading room. Mr. Eno is recognized internationally as the “Father of Traffic Regulation and Transportation Engineering.”
1992  Simsbury Chamber of Commerce occupies English basement level of the 1924 addition to the SFL building, bringing their business reference library.
1998 With a grant from the Ensign Bickford Foundation, a specially equipped archival room is added beneath the main floor to safely store the early business records and memorabilia of the Ensign-Bickford Company (which has operated in Simsbury since the 19th century) and other valuable historical records.
1998 A 5-foot-square stone plaque with the seal of the Eno Foundation for Transportation in high relief is added to the southeast corner of the SFL building.


©2012 Simsbury Free Library.