{"nrhp_refnum":"03000599","name":"Belmont Literary and Historical Society Free Library","other_names":["Belmont Free Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2 Willets Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Belmont","county":"Allegany County","state":"NY","lat":42.223456750000025,"lon":-78.03558949999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-07-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, late-Victorian eclectic brick library building on a triangular lot at 2 Willets Avenue in Belmont, Allegany County, New York, built between 1893 and 1904 with a clock tower added in 1908.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a highly intact example of late nineteenth century vernacular public architecture (Criterion C). It is also significant under Criterion A in Education and Social History, because a women's literary society created and has run the library since 1885 as part of the national women's club movement.","narrative":"Occupying a triangular lot where Willets Avenue meets Norton Street and Park Place, this two-story brick library in Belmont takes its shape from its site rather than from a single architectural style. Towers mark the corners, and the tallest, holding the main entrance, carries a clock added in 1908 that is still wound by hand each week. The building was begun in 1893 to plans by N. G. Tuthill of Corning and finished in 1904. It was named Ward Hall for Mary Chamberlain Ward, its main benefactor. Her son, the Rev. John Ward, designed the clock tower. A women's literary society founded in 1885 created the library and has managed it ever since, as part of the late nineteenth century women's club movement. Repairs in the 1940s brought clapboard in the south gable and a single entrance door, yet the building keeps its original form and most historic fabric. It remains a working library for the village and county seat.","period_of_significance":"1893-1953","architect_builder":"N. G. Tuthill; The Rev. John Ward (clock tower)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian; Victorian Eclectic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a library. The second floor, partitioned into offices in the 1960s, is unoccupied and used for library storage and book sale staging.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.313282-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/03000599.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000599/e437df3b8d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000599/e437df3b8d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"eyesofibad","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belmont_Literary_and_Historical_Society_Free_Library_2012-09-29_21-50-18.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">eyesofibad</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belmont_Literary_and_Historical_Society_Free_Library_2012-09-29_21-50-18.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316401","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belmont_Literary_and_Historical_Society_Free_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4884389"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/allegany-county/belmont-literary-and-historical-society-free-library-03000599/"}