Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. 16 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1886.
“The Old Public Library is a historic library building in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The Richardsonian Romanesque structure was built in 1892 to a design by George G.”
Wikipedia article Old Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 480 National Register listings published here for Essex County · listed in 1978 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Lawrence City in History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888 names Lawrence. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Stephen P. Simmons, a native of Rhode Island, came to Lawrence in 1847. He assisted in work on the dam, built the stone chimney of the Lawrence Machine-Shop Company, and other large amounts ot stone-work for the Essex Company. He also constructed Grace Episcopal Church, the stone church at Methuen and the foundations of the Lawrence jail.
Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.
The first cashier of the company during its earliest and busiest years was Geo. D. Cabot, who resigned in January, 185;j, and after a short period of rest became agent of the Lawrence Gas Company. He was succeeded by John R. Rollins who remained somewhat more than eleven years till the summer of 1864, when Henry H. Hall became cashier, succeeded by Hon. Robert H. Tewksbury. Present organization, - Hon. Chas. S. Storrow, president; Howard Stockton, treasurer; Hiram F. Mills, chief engineer.
Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Lawrence City - 28,516 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 82 fires within 5 miles of Old Public Library between 2002 and 2020, burning about 24 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 |
| Smoking | 17 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 September 2020 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 21 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 14 September 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 14 September 2016 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | NORTH ANDOVER |
| 8 August 2016 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | LAWERANCE |
| 8 August 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | LAWERANCE |
| 8 August 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | LAWERANCE |
| 5 August 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | METHUEN |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,188 specimens collected within 10 miles of Old Public Library between 1816 and 1975: 694 Plantae, 357 Animalia, 121 Fungi, 5 Protozoa, 4 Unrecorded, 4 Chromista, 3 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A Brown, A S Gaunt, A. C. Mathieson and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Lupinus L. | 1816 | Boott, F.M.B. | Mystic Pond, 6 miles from Boston. |
 | Viola labradorica Schrank | 1816 | not recorded | Andover Turnpike, 6 miles from Boston U.S.A. |
 | Diphyscium foliosum (Hedw.) D.Mohr | 1822 | ALCOTT | |
 | Arcyria oerstedii Rostaf., 1875 | 1826 | F. A. Gilbert | |
 | Eleocharis robbinsii Oakes | 1829 | B. D. Greene | |
 | Carex debilis var. rudgei L.H.Bailey | 1853 | Collector unknown | |
 | Carex rostrata Stokes | 1853 | W. Boott | |
 | Cyathus striatus Willd. | 1853 | not recorded | Andover, Mass. [Massachusetts] |
 | Dichelyma capillaceum (Dicks.) Myrin | 1853 | T. P. James | |
 | Isopterygiopsis pulchella (Hedw.) Z.Iwats. | 1853 | T. P. James | |
 | Leskea polycarpa Hedw. | 1853 | T. P. James | |
| Vulpia octoflora var. glauca (Nutt.) Fernald | 1858 | J. Blake |
All 1,188 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Old Public Library: 4 past producers, 1 unknown, 1 producer, 1 plant. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Nickel, Gold, Silver, Copper, Perlite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dracut Ni Mine/Nickel Mine Hill | Nickel, Gold, Silver, Copper | Past Producer | ||
| Wittemore Perlite Plant | Perlite | Plant | ||
| Rocco Zambino and Sons, Inc. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sand & Gravel Operation | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Torromeo Trucking Co | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Torromeo Trucking Co., Inc. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lawrence, the town this property stands in, in 26 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 7 flash flood, 7 thunderstorm wind, 7 flood, 3 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Lawrence | $570,000 | Shawsheen River |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Lawrence | $50,000 | In Lawrence, trees were downed on Winthrop Avenue, Essex Street, Everett Street, and Methuen Street. A tree fell onto a house on Furber Street and another on Melvin Street. In North Andover, a large tree was downed on Boston Road near Route 114 and on Main Street. Damage was a little more extensive in Andover, where many trees were downed on the south side of town including on Vine Street. Trees and wires were downed on Bridle Path Road. |
| July 2009 | Lightning | South Lawrence | $50,000 | Lightning struck a house on Fossen Way setting it on fire. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lawrence | $30,000 | Trees and wires on South Union, Kent, Baily, and Dorchester Streets were downed by thunderstorm winds. A tree on Dorchester Street was downed onto a car. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Lawrence | $25,000 | Many large trees on North Street were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2018 | Flood | Lawrence | $10,000 | At 1:55 PM EST, two cars were trapped in flooding at the intersection of Market Street and Parker Street in Lawrence. |
| September 2017 | Flood | South Lawrence | $10,000 | At 455 PM EST, an amateur radio operator reported Chickering Road at State Route 114 in South Lawrence was flooded. A car nearby on Halsey Street was trapped in flood waters. At 524 PM EST a car was disabled in street flooding at Cutler Avenue and Chickering Road. Grafton Street was flooded and impassable. |
| June 2023 | Lightning | Lawrence | $5,000 | In Lawrence at 511 PM EDT (411 PM EST), a house was struck by lightning, causing damage to the electrical system. |
| July 2018 | Flash Flood | Lawrence | $5,000 | At 2:48 PM EST, a car was trapped in flooding at the junction of Swan Street and Jackson Street in Methuen. |
| October 2011 | Flood | South Lawrence | $5,000 | Several streets were closed due to flooding. A car was stuck in floodwaters at the intersection of Andover Street and South Broadway near the Walgreens. |
| July 2020 | Flash Flood | Lawrence | $3,000 | In Methuen, Lowell Street was impassable due to flash flooding. Two cars were trapped there. Broadway near Granite Street was flooded and impassable. Also, Route 110 near Bates Street was flooded and impassable. Jackson Street was also flooded and impassable. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lawrence | $1,500 | In Methuen, multiple trees were down on Wintergreen Circle. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Lawrence | $800 | In Lawrence, a tree and power lines were down on Leonard Avenue. |
| August 2025 | Flash Flood | South Lawrence | - | There were cars stuck in significant street flooding near the Lawrence and Andover town line. |
| October 2022 | Flood | South Lawrence | - | In Lawrence, police reported street flooding on Andover Street between Clifron and Amherst Streets. The road was flooded and impassable. Report relayed by amateur radio. |
| July 2020 | Flash Flood | Lawrence | - | In Lawrence, Berkeley Street was flooded and impassable from Sheridan Street to Jackson Street to East Haverhill Street. In addition, Parker Street was closed at the Merrimack River bridge due to flooding. |
| November 2018 | Flood | South Lawrence | - | In Lawrence, there were flooded streets at Water Street and Marble Avenue. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Lawrence | - | At 9:55 AM EST, Parker Street in Lawrence was closed from Market Street to Merrimack Street due to flooding at the railroad underpass. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | South Lawrence | - | At 9:43 AM EST, the intersection of Andover Street at Clifton Street in Lawrence was flooded and impassable. |
| September 2017 | Flood | Lawrence | - | At 1124 AM EST, an amateur radio operator reported a car trapped in flood waters behind Partham Elementary School in Lawrence. The Automated Surface Observation System platform at Lawrence Airport recorded a storm total rainfall of 2.62 inches. |
| September 2017 | Flood | Lawrence | - | At 1045 AM EST, Parker Street in Lawrence was reported flooded and impassable between Merrimack and Market Streets. At 11 AM EST, the intersection of Salem Street and South Union Street was reported flooded and impassable. The Community Cooperative Rain Hail and Snow observer in Andover reported a storm total rainfall of 2.18 inches. |
| July 2014 | Hail | Lawrence | - | Dime sized hail was reported in Lawrence. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lawrence | - | Trees down onto homes. |
| July 2009 | Hail | South Lawrence | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lawrence | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Lawrence | - | no account filed |
United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Emerson House | 0.2 miles | 1984 |
 | Gleason Building | 0.3 miles | 1982 |
 | Downtown Lawrence Historic District | 0.4 miles | 1979 |
 | Grace Episcopal Church | 0.5 miles | 1976 |
 | Jackson Terrace Historic District | 0.5 miles | 1984 |
 | Great Stone Dam | 0.6 miles | 1977 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 78000452 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Essex County | All 480 listed properties in this county. |
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