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The Bakerville Library, New Hartford, Connecticut, was started in 1949 with a “little red wagon.” Barbara Yedlin, daughter of the late Ralph and Nelia Gardner White, wanted a neighborhood library. Mrs. Yedlin took her son’s wagon and canvassed her neighbors for books. Eventually 500 books were donated, stored and distributed from the basement of her home. . In 1951 the opening of the Bakerville Consolidated School left the former two-room schoolhouse vacant. Mrs. Yedlin began moving the books into this building for use as a library. Many area residents donated their time to build shelves and repair the building. Helen Tonkin was librarian for thirty years beginning in 1966. Visitors are always invited to see this community landmark which was built in 1834.
For more than 180 years, the quaint home of the Bakerville Library has stood as both a touchstone of our common past and a threshold into the future we all share
