Fort Fairfield Public Library Town and County Historical Room Preservation Assessment
FAIN: PG-258446-18
Fort Fairfield Public Library (Fort Fairfield, ME 04742-1160)
Jennifer Gaenzle (Project Director: May 2017 to March 2022)
A preservation assessment for a collection of
over 2,000 books, newspapers, periodicals, and ephemera including early vital
records of many towns from around Maine; genealogical studies of local, state,
and Northeast region families; and county cemetery registers. Notable items include 19th-century
newspapers reporting marriages, births, and deaths from Fairfield, which is
located on the United States-Canadian border; town reports dating back to 1865;
and 70 years of Potato Blossom Festival brochures. The foundation of the collection is a 1925
donation by Col. Franklin Drew of an extensive Civil War-era book
collection. Materials are used for
historical and genealogical research across the United States and
internationally.
The Fort Fairfield Public
Library is applying for the Preservation Assistance Grant to assess the needs
and requirements to adequately care for and preserve the Jesse Drew Room
collection. This collection was first established in 1925 upon the death of
Col. Franklin M. Drew, who willed his entire library to the Fort Fairfield
Library in memory of his father Jesse Drew. This collection consists primarily
of Civil War era books, genealogy, state and local history books, originally
collected over the years by Col. Drew, as well as additional acquisitions
collected, purchased, or donated to the library. The collection houses over 2,000
books; local newspapers and school yearbooks and news; genealogy and cemetery
records and town reports, which date back to the mid to late 1800's to present
day. Many of the books in the collection are not known to be available anywhere
else in Maine or the northeast for research.
Media Coverage
Fort Fairfield Public Library Receives National Endowment for the Humanities Grant (Media Coverage)
Publication: WAGM TV Newsource 8
Date: 12/14/2017
URL: http://www.wagmtv.com/content/news/Fort-Fairfield-Public-Library-Receives--National-Endowment-for-the-Humanities-Grant-464164423.html