Foss, Oscar, Memorial Library

The Oscar Foss Memorial Library is significant architecturally as one of the finest small public library buildings in the Lakes Region, and as a good example of the Classical style so popular for public library buildings in the pre-World War I period.

The Town of Barnstead established its public library by a vote of the annual town meeting in 1892. But the library was not given proper quarters, being housed over the years in residences and stores. In the 1890s, the library was actually split into four branches in the town's different villages. But, the library collection was eventually consolidated in a single library in Center Barnstead, where in 1906, it occupied one large room in a private house. The need for a proper library building was apparent, but it was not met until Sarah U. Foss decided to erect a library-town office building in memory of her husband Oscar Foss (1845-1913), a prominent Barnstead businessman and lumber dealer. In the spring of 1916, Mrs. Foss announced her decision to build the Oscar Foss Memorial Building on land which had long been owned by the Foss family, appropriately located opposite the Town Hall and the Congregational Church in Center Barnstead. The building was designed by architect William M. Butterfield of Manchester and erected by contractor Leon F. Batchelder of Suncook. Construction, which began in the second week of May 1916, actually preceded by ten months the decision of the Town, at its annual meeting of March 13, 1917 "to except, when finished, the Land and Building known as the Oscar Foss Memorial Building, the same to be used for Town Office and Public Library". By that time, the building must have been substantially completed, as a Laconia paper reported that "Mr. Sullivan, painter, and decorator of Manchester, completed his work on the interior" the following week.

Unfortunately, the newspapers tell us little about the progress of construction. We know that the work was "under the direction of Isaac E. Harriman", 3 but we can say a little more about it. The Memorial Building was dedicated with an appropriate ceremony on Saturday, October 27, 1917, and was deeded to the town on the same day. Exactly one week later, the Selectmen moved into their new office. The library soon followed, opening for business in its new quarters on Saturday, November 15.

The Oscar Foss Memorial Building has changed relatively little over the years. An acoustic tile ceiling was at some point installed in the Town Office. In 1970, the basement, originally unfinished, save for the stairs, hallways and restrooms, was renovated to serve as a community room and a meeting place. Eventually, both the town officials and the library needed more space. So, in 1979, the town offices were moved across the street to an addition to the Town Hall. The old Town Office room was incorporated into the library by creating the present opening between the central hall and the Town Office, in what had been a solid wall. The carpenter, Douglas Tedcastle, succeeded in matching the new opening with the older opening between the central hall and the reading room. (The cornice in the central hall and the bookcases in the Town Office already existed, so only the frame of the opening and the Town Office cornice are new work.) A visitor who was unaware of the building's history would assume that the present opening had always existed.

Bookcases were installed in the Town Office. The former doorway from the vestibule to the Town Office was plastered over on the Office side, and the door was replaced with a bulletin board in the vestibule. 1979 also saw the installation of wall-to-wall carpeting in public rooms. The exterior has been changed only at the entries. The main entry originally had three narrow and awkward concrete steps, which were crumbling by 1979. So, as part of the general renovation of the building in that year, the old steps were replaced by a wider concrete landing and steps with modern metal handrails. In 1981-82, the small and seldom-seen rear entry was attached to provide a vestibule for the rear door. Basically, however, the interior and the exterior of the Oscar Foss Memorial Library remain much as they did in 1917. (The grounds, still surrounded by the original metal pipe fence, have also seen few changes. Foundation shrubs have been planted in front of the building. The walk was repaved in 1981. The most notable change was the erection 1967 of the Veterans' Memorial on the front lawn.)

William M. Butterfield (1860-1932) was one of New Hampshire's finest and most prominent architects in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Unfortunately, like most other New Hampshire architects of any era, he has received little scholarly attention. So, it is not possible to fit the Barnstead library into the context of his career. We should, however, note the Stone Memorial Building in Weare, also designed by Butterfield. The Weare building, erected in 1896, was also a dual-purpose building, serving both as a town office and a public library. Although differing greatly in details and ornament, the Stone Memorial Building, built of brick on a granite foundation, has the same basic form as the Oscar Foss Memorial Library--a one-story, hip-roofed building, three bays wide and two bays deep, with a central distyle in antis portico with an ornate pediment (covered by a small gable roof) and a shallow entry recess, and a shallow, brick-walled projection on the rear facade. The Weare building no doubt served as a model for the Barnstead library.

Although Butterfield did some notable work in the Queen Anne style (the Gov. Smith House in Hillsboro of 1892), the Romanesque Revival style (the Belknap County Courthouse in Laconia of 1903), and even the Egyptian Revival style (the Sphinx Senior Society building in Hanover of 1903), he is said to have favored the Classical styles. But, the choice of the Classical style for the Oscar Foss Memorial Building was not simply a matter of the architect's preference. For public buildings, particularly libraries, it was the preferred style of the period. Of the eight public library buildings erected in the Lakes Region between 1900 and the First World War, two were medieval in style, but the other six were all basically Classically inspired buildings. After the war, the Colonial Revival style would supersede the Classical style for the region's libraries. But, in 1917, the Classical style was the obvious choice for Barnstead's new Library building. The Oscar Foss Memorial Building cannot compare in grandeur with the Franklin Public Library (1905-06), or the Nichols Memorial Library in Centre Harbor (1909-10), but it is nevertheless a good example of the style as applied to a relatively small building. The building's dominant exterior feature is its portico, with two Composite columns in antis supporting an ornate pediment.

The entry gives the building a dignity that belies its size. Outside the entry, the Classical illusions are rather limited. The basic symmetry of the building and its simple but impressive form does, however, come from the Classical tradition, as does the box cornice with its large mutules. The non-Classical exterior elements, such as the random coursed granite foundation, the projecting chimneys, and the windows, with their triangular panes and flat granite arches with keystones and radiating end blocks, are still pleasing features. The interior also has some pleasant elements, such as the simple but attractive frames of the windows, doors, and openings, and the brick fireplaces with their brick mantelshelves, decorated with classical moldings. The public rooms are dignified and attractive spaces, the most interesting room being the central hall with its large skylight and large, shallow, semicircular arched recess in each wall. These interior and exterior features and their integration into a coherent and handsome design reveal Butterfield's skill as an architect and raise the Barnstead library above most of the Region's public buildings. The Oscar Foss Memorial Library must be considered one of the best small public library buildings in the Lakes Region.