In 1861, a man named Knowlton Howard came to Gilmanton from Randolph, Vermont to live near some friends and relatives of his. He bought 120 acres of government land and after the Civil War started, Knowlton returned to his hometown of Randolph, Vermont to enlist as a Lieutenant 2nd Class, on September 11, 1862. On October 2, 1862, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant 2nd Class in Company F, 12th In
fantry Regiment of Vermont only to die of disease on November 1 of that same year. Sidney Howard, Knowlton’s father, later sold Knowlton’s “estate” and was quoted as saying “I have sold my boy’s land for something more than $500, but I don’t like to take his money for my own use. It seems to me a sacred fund and I want to leave it here to build a monument to his memory. I want to put it into something that will do good for years to come to his old neighbors and their children and at the same time keep his memory green when I am gone.”
After meeting with some of the relatives and friends of the Howard family that still were in the Gilmanton area some of the friends remembered a small library in Brookfield, Orange County, Virginia that their fathers and grandfathers had borrowed books from. The $500.00 (Equal to over $7,460 in 2012 dollars) from the estate was given to some neighbors to invest for the purposes of making a fund in which the interest was to be used to purchase books for a similar library. In 1866, the library was first located in the Union church building where the books were kept free of charge. By 1878, the library already contained over 500 books, and the collection was still growing at that time. For a better understanding of how the library operated in those early years, the first biennial report of the Free Library Commission of Wisconsin, in 1896-97, contained this report:
”Buffalo County. The Howard Library, Gilmanton, has probably the most unusual system of circulation in the state. It was founded in 1866, contains about 3,000 volumes, and is housed in a room furnished free by the Union church. The meetings of the association are held quarterly on the first Saturdays of March, June, September, and December. Each member hand the librarian a list of books he desires to use during the ensuing three months. When the lists are collected, the association proceeds to hold an auction. The auctioneer proclaims the list handed in by the first member on his roll, and if no one else wishes any book marked on this list, they are all marked down to that member, without further ceremony. If, however, some other member chances to desire a book contained on this list, it is offered for rent to the highest bidder. Books thus auctioned bring quarterly rental of from five cents to a dollar each, fifteen cents being the average. Between one thousand five hundred and two thousand books are thus placed in circulation at each quarterly meeting. If a book is retained by a borrower beyond the next quarterly meeting, a fine of ten cents is imposed. The library has a small endowment, and with fees and fines received, is kept in a flourishing condition.”
Memberships haven’t changed in the entire time of the Howard Library’s existence. One still only has to pay $1.00 to become a lifetime member!
