Remembering a benefactor

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Remembering a benefactor
Do you know where this picture was taken? See if you can identify it and then read the article for details. (Photo Lori Berkey)

By Lori Berkey, Contributing Writer

Northborough – The photo of this portrait was taken on the second floor of the Northborough Free Library at 34 Main St. An engraved plate at the base of the frame reads “Cyrus Gale 1824-1907 Born in Northborough.”

A photo remarkably similar to the above likeness appears in “Images of America Northborough,” by the Northborough Historical Society. However, the caption under the book's photo refers to subject as Cyrus Gale, Jr. It called one of the town's chief benefactors, who endowed the Northborough Free Library building and Assabet Park and states that he died in 1907. The book also pictures his father, who is referred to as Capt. Cyrus Gale.

The book “Northborough History,” by Josiah Coleman Kent, includes a segment on “THE GALES – FATHER AND SON.” This source reveals that the elder Gale was one of the early benefactors of the Northborough Free Library, while the younger Gale gave the “home of the Northborough Free Library” and donated to the “Gale Fund” that his father started.

The library underwent a renovation and expansion project within recent years. A large, Lucite plaque on the stairwell leading to the library's second floor depicts the library's erstwhile image. Above a list of names it expresses “grateful recognition” to “Cyrus Gale Society Capital Campaign” donors.

Another plaque located inside the library's entryway is dated 2009 and honors individuals and groups responsible for the library's existence and expansion. A seal in the center acknowledges the January 24, 1766, incorporation date, while the surrounding area names those involved with the recent project. A message on this same detailed piece reads: “Funded by the generosity of the citizens of Northborough and in part by the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program, administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners….Dedicated with Appreciation to the Citizens of Northborough.”

Of Historical Note is a weekly segment of the Community Advocate that features a hidden or well-known landmark from one of our newspaper's six communities.

 

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