A crowd was gathered in Manchester on this day in 1897. They had come to celebrate the dedication of a new town library, the Mark Skinnner Library.

Slightly more than two years earlier, construction had begun on what would become a Manchester landmark. The original building featured a large picture window, a fireplace, and distinctive windows topped with sunburst panes.

The library was donated by Frances Skinner Willing of Chicago, who wanted the library named for her father. Mark Skinner had been born in Manchester, the son of a Vermont governor, and became a well-known lawyer and philanthropist.

Photo courtesy the Vermont Historical Society.