Gaylord Memorial Library

SOUTH HADLEY, MA.

William H. Gaylord, a much esteemed and civic-minded South Hadley citizen, would be proud to see that the library that he and his wife Betsey provided for the town in 1904 still stands as a fitting memorial. The son of a farmer, Gaylord rose to wealth and prominence through hard work and enterprise. Recognizing the need for a public library in the town center, he generously offered the money to build one on the site of the former village cemetery, known as “God’s Acre”, on College Street. Across from Mount Holyoke College’s Mary Lyon Chapel, this cemetery had become overgrown and was considered an eyesore.

Permission was given to move all of the graves to Evergreen Cemetery on Hadley Street, except for the grave of John Preston, the original donor of the land. The gravestone can still be found beneath a large red cedar behind the library.