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![The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest men of past centuries. [Descartes]](www_graphics_srl/basics/home_page_quote.gif) |
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Building HistoryThe unique Library complex reflects the history of the area in its two historic buildings. The original library building, was built by John Lounsbery around 1798 and was purchased from the Lounsbery family by Cornelius Hasbrouck in 1859. The building passed in turn to his brother, Garret Decker Hasbrouck, in 1861 who lived here with his wife, Julia Lawrence Hasbrouck. It was the childhood home of their daughter, Julia Hasbrouck Dwight, who presented it to the community in 1909 to be used as a library in memory of her parents. Two original fireplaces as well as hardware and woodwork date to the house's construction. A large entrance hall with the typical two-section Dutch door and a banistered stairway rising to a turn at the halfway landing highlights the unusual floor plan. The main entrance today is through a wood and glass addition that joins the original building to the Wood-Elmendorf House which the Library bought in 1978. This house was built in the early 1800’s with Dr. Isaac S. Hasbrouck as the earliest confirmed resident. A porch and Victorian dormer as well as interior trim and woodwork were added to the house apparently sometime after a court-ordered sale in 1868 when the property was described as “...fences very much out of repair and the buildings old." Fillmore and Mary Wood bought the house in 1890 and it remained in the family until the deaths of the two Wood daughters, Jennie Sutton and Grace Elmendorf. When Stone Ridge was Lang SyneThe following is from the 1933-34 Ulster County Historical Society BookletWhen Stone Ridge was Lang SyneBy Mrs. William F. Hasbrouck Above the window in the post office at Stone Ridge is a letter which reads as follows: Washington, 27 March 1832 Sir: I have changed the name of your Post Office on the books of this department from "Lang Syne" to Stone Ridge, County of Ulster, State of New York. You may give publicity to this change in any way you may deem proper provided it creates no expense to this department, I am, sir, respectfully, John Lounsbery, Esq. I have never seen any mention of the "Lang Syne" in any records of our village, so you may take it for what it is worth. Stone Ridge is not without its quota of celebrities who have tarried a while there. We have the beautiful old stone house belonging now to William Lounsbery where Washington stopped during the Revolution, the home then of a member of his staff, Col. Cornelius Wynkoop, while the rest of his staff lodged across the road at Sally Tock's Inn, the home now of Mrs E. C. Chadbourne. Aaron Burr stopped at a blacksmith shop to have his horse re-shod and there he met the boy, John Vanderlyn, who sketched a picture of him on the door of the shop. Burr recognized his talents and later paid for his education, the beginning of a long friendship between the two. Another time, later on, a youth while making a survey of the roads of Ulster County stopped under a tree, which is still standing, to eat his lunch. The tree was directly in front of the home of one James Cantine. Taking a motherly interest in the boy, Mrs Cantine said to her husband, "Take a cup of coffee out to him to make his lunch more palatable." Mr. Cantine returning, remarked to his wife, "Charlotte, that's a very promising young man and I prophesy he will go a long way in the world." And so he did, for he was none other than Jay Gould. - Mrs. William F. Hasbrouck, 1933 |
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Library Historywith thanks to Elsie WeglarzThe Stone Ridge Library was chartered on June 17, 1909, as a free public library by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. The founding Board of Trustees were Matilda VanWinkle, Wilmer MacNair, James Cantine, Charles Hardenbergh, John H. Palen, Della Clark, and Francis Leggett. As an association the library was governed by a board of 12 trustees with three trustees elected to four year terms at the Association's annual meeting held each year in October. In 2000 acting under authorization from the New York Legislature and Governor, the voters of the Town of Marbletown created the Stone Ridge Library District which replaced the association. Today an elected board of nine is responsible for the Library’s operation. Mrs. Edward Van Winkle (Matilda Cantine) was the first librarian and a member of the governing Board of Trustees from the Library's incorporation in 1909 until 1934. Stone Ridge librarians through the years included:
The dedication and enthusiasm Mrs. VanWinkle brought to her position as librarian provided the impetus to make the Library the vital force in the community which it has remained. She also established a tradition of warmth and friendliness that has made the Stone Ridge Library a true community center. And her successors have continued the standards she set for dedication, enthusiasm and service. Strong community support is a tradition of this library and this is as evident in the twenty-first century as it was when the Mormel Club met at the library over 70 years ago to help their leader, Mrs. VanWinkle, with necessary tasks and to walk her home when the library closed for the day. For most of the members of this group of Campfire Girls their experience as teenagers led to a lifetime of interest and support for the Stone Ridge Library. Mormel Club members honored at an open house at the library in 1974 for their years of service included Ruth Roosa, Margaret Osterhoudt, Ruth Basten, Margaret Basten, Ida Ransom, Margaret Van Winkle and Amy Hardenbergh.Financing for the library in its early years came from gifts, contributions, and volunteer fund raising and this support still makes up an important part of the annual budget. In 1938, the Library received its first grant for $100 from the Town of Marbletown. The Library received support from the towns of Marbletown and Rochester for many years as well as from Ulster County. The special library district created in 2000 now provides the Library with its core support. The major fund- raiser today is the annual Stone Ridge Library Fair, first held on the library grounds in 1948. Each June volunteers donate hundreds of hours to the popular event that draws attendance from all over Ulster County and beyond. Author! Author! held each December is also an important fundraising event including dinner, auction and a program written by local authors and writers. Incorporated in 1909 to serve a community of 600 persons, the library now provides complete library services 47 hours weekly for the 5,000 residents of Town of Marbletown and to many residents of the neighboring Town of Rochester - an area with a total population of 7000. |
