History:
The Damon Memorial building, which is the home of the Gale Free Library, was the gift of Samuel C. Gale and his wife, Susan Damon Gale. Mr. Gale had been a teacher at the Holden Center School. The building was named in honor of Mrs. Gale's family, the Damons, who had been active members of the Holden community for many years. The Gale Free Library was named in memory of Mr. Gale's family. The Damon Memorial building was dedicated on August 29, 1888, and the Trustees still function under the original deed of gift.
Stephen C. Earle of Worcester, the architect, was well-known throughout New England. His work was influenced by Henry Hobson Richardson, who introduced the Romanesque Revival period of architecture. Thus, the Damon Memorial may be identified as Richardsonian Romanesque in design. The building was planned to meet the Gales' requirement that it be both the Town's high school and public library.
The original building is constructed of locally quarried granite, with brown sandstone from Longmeadow, Massachusetts added for the sills, lintels, and arches. Black slate from Maine was used on the roof and red slate on the tower roof.
In 1926 the high school moved into its own facility, and as the town grew the library services spread into all areas of the original building. In addressing the need for additional space, the Trustees planned a renovation/addition project and in 1988 at the Annual Town Meeting, voters approved the 2.2 million dollar project. The Town was awarded a state grant of $200,000 in support of this project.
Jacques Fauteux, a former Holden resident, was the architect for the renovation/addition. The outer wall of the addition is of morning rose granite from the Rock of Ages Corporation quarries in Barre, Vermont. The roof is of copper-colored metal.
Today the building lies within the Holden Center Historic District and is listed also in the National Register of Historic Places.
