Draft:Southport Memorial Library

The Southport Memorial Library is the public library of the town of Southport, Maine, located at the southern tip of Southport Island. The library serves around 600 year round residents, as well as a much larger population of summer residents and visitors.

History
The history of the Southport Memorial Library begins prior to 1906 when Susan and Rebecca Zabriskie moved to Newagen from New York. Since there was no library on Southport, they decided to lend their large collection of books out to the neighborhood. In 1906, the books were moved into a small building on Town Landing Road, which known as the “The Bayberry Camp Library”.

In 1947, Southport consolidated its grammar schools, causing the one-room schoolhouse at Newagen to became available. The two Zabriskie sisters donated their five thousand book collection to the town, and the town decided to create a memorial to honor the town’s World Wars I and II veterans. The town then decided to turn the vacant schoolhouse into a memorial library. The new library was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1948. It is the first stop for the Southport Island Memorial Day Parade, and the location of the Southport Island Independence Day Parade.

Inside, on the front wall, the town’s veterans are listed from WWI through Vietnam. Also outside the building is a plaque on a stone in memory of Rachel Carson, who had a cottage on the Salt Pond Road and did considerable research for her book, Silent Spring, on the shore in front of her cottage.