Program Description
Event Details
Unique Treasures Connect Towns
The tiny Atlantic shoreline community of Nahant, MA has an interesting link to Canandaigua, and Nahant Public Library Director Sharon Hawkes will talk about it on Saturday, May 13, 3:00 at Wood Library.
William Wood, the library’s namesake, was an early 19th century merchant and philanthropist. He was described as the Andrew Carnegie of his generation. As a summer resident in Nahant, he gathered a thousand books from anyone he could convince, giving them to the residents of Nahant in 1819 to create a public library. Nahant still owns over 400 of those original books, along with the inscriptions of who dedicated them. Ms. Hawkes will discuss the books, the donors, and the amazing Mr. Wood himself.
“William Wood was not born to wealth, but bettered himself through reading and hard work,” said Ms. Hawkes. “He wanted to provide that opportunity to the next generation of apprentices and merchant clerks. The books that he collected and the donors who gave them are a tribute to everyone’s belief in the importance of extensive reading.”
Retiring to Canandaigua in 1826, William Wood was well known for his generosity and his many projects. “Uncle Billy” created many libraries throughout the country and even on sailing ships, but Nahant’s was his very first book project. It is the most extensive of Wood’s collections remaining and provides clues about what people thought should be collected and read by all.
This program is free. For further information, contact Wood Library at (585) 394-1381 or Sharon Hawkes at shawkes@nahant.org