Frequently we share a different historic image on the Essex on Lake Champlain Facebook page and invite our viewers to play some Vintage Essex Trivia.
We asked if viewers could recognize the building featured in the postcard above and if they could note any changes in its appearance with how it looks today. Despite being covered in vines and other foliage many knew it!
The title on the front of the postcard says that this is the “Grey Stone Library, Essex on Lake Champlain, NY.” The library’s official name is the Belden Noble Memorial Library.
Here are some comments from the community:
Mary Wade: It was so beautiful when I was a little girl, with the ivy covered stone and small hedge in front, and open grill over the creek.
Colleen Williams: Those bushes in the front were about twice as high around 1966. My cousin and I used to play around in there when the library was closed and nobody could see us. I don’t remember that wall either.
Cathy Moore: My mom Nancy Hopper used to be librarian there…I loved that library!
Ellen Carson: Our library
Judy A. Keating: Essex free library! ❤️
Essex Supervisor Ken Hughes: It appears there is a vine-covered stone wall perpendicular to the library on the front north side. I don’t believe that exists anymore. Wonder what its purpose was and why it was removed…
Dorothy Bliss: the vines are gone
Dianne B Lansing: Wow! All those vines? I wonder what kind they were.
Bryan Nelson Elder: Belden Noble Free Library! Certainly has a lot less plant growth on the building. Don’t see a stone wall next to it which guards the creek beside the library.
Rose Marie Mello: A favorite place!
See the back of the postcard below. There is a written note that reads: “1922 July.” It’s possible that the photo dates to that year or that is what someone estimated at some point in the past…
Do you have any thoughts to share about this? Please leave a comment below!
If you have any vintage Essex images or artifacts to share, please let us know!
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