History
The Other Cossitt Library
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The first Memphis public library opened in 1893. The benefactor was none other than Frederick H. Cossitt, the former Granby resident and philanthropist.
Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/author/ken-kuhl/)
The first Memphis public library opened in 1893. The benefactor was none other than Frederick H. Cossitt, the former Granby resident and philanthropist.
Frederick and Catherine Cossitt had four children. The oldest was Helen Marcellus Cossitt who married Augustus D. Juilliard in 1877.
Granby has an amazing connection with the famous Juilliard School in New York City.
Lila K. (Knapp) Innes, age 92, of Granby, passed away on Jan. 28, 2020, at home surrounded by her loving family after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Born in Bridgeport on Dec. 9, 1927, and raised in Stratford, Lila was married to Charles Innes for 65 years, until his death in December 2015.
In the Winter of 1891, a committee worked on plans for the dedication of the new library, which was scheduled for Thursday, March 26, 1891. Due to the overwhelming interest in the event, it was held at the First Congregational Church.
The Cossitt Library was under construction by Spring of 1890. The letters and papers pertaining to the architect’s specifications are still preserved in the library safe.
In 1887, Frederick H. Cossitt died in New York City. The passing of one who had lived his childhood in Granby and then moved on was not much of an event of note in a town that had seen many of its children leave for greener pastures in the 1820s and 1830s.