Akin Free Library

Infobox_nrhp | name = Akin Free Library
nrhp_type =

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caption = Library building in March 2007
location= hamlet of Quaker Hill, town of Pawling, Dutchess County, USA
lat_degrees = | lat_minutes = | lat_seconds = | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = | long_minutes = | long_seconds = | long_direction = W
area =
built =1898-1908
architect=John A. Wood
added = November 11, 1991
governing_body = private
refnum= 91001726 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Akin Free Library on Quaker Hill is a historic eclectic late Victorian stone building in the hamlet of Quaker Hill, town of
Pawling, Dutchess County, USA, listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a historic place of local significance since 1991. The Akin Free Library was a gift from the Quaker Albert J. Akin (1803-1903), founder of the Bank of Pawling and the Mizzentop Hotel on Quaker Hill. The building was designed by the architect John A. Wood and constructed in the years 1898 until 1908. The library itself is located on the first floor of the building. Among others, its holdings of several thousand books contain books of local interest and by local authors, a children's section, and newspaper collections.

Museums

The Historical Society Museum occupies the second floor of the building.Its collections include objects pertaining to the local history such asperiod and Quaker clothing, tools and artwork, bowling pins from theMizzentop Hotel, and the service window from the old Quaker Hill Post Office.

The lower floor of the building houses the Olive Gunnison Natural History Museum, which displays about 200 mounted birds, rocks and minerals, as well as a shrunken human head.

Location

The address of the library is 97 Quaker Hill Road, Pawling, NY 12564.

External links

* [http://www.pawlinghistory.org/auto_tour/akin_free_library.htm online article by the Historical Society of Quaker Hill and Pawling]
* [http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/travel/escapes/30trip.html travel article in the New York Times]
* [http://www.passport-mag.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14158877&BRD=2699 online travel article on Pawling]
* [http://www.watermanbirdclub.org/NewsArticles/2001_08AkinLibrary.htm web page on the bird collection of the Gunnison Natural History Museum]

References