The Westport Library

The Westport Library is a public library in the town of Westport, Connecticut, established on February 4, 1886, by members of the Westport Reading-Room and Library Association.:132Morris Ketchum Jesup, born in 1830 to a country doctor,:73 amassed a fortune in the railroad business and became the benefactor of the library, donating the land and $5,000 for the building.:157 In April 1908, the Westport Public Library was completed at a cost of $75,000 and dedicated to the custody of the Westport Library Association by Jesup's wife, following the wishes of her husband who died four months earlier.:157In June 1984, plans were announced to build a new library on a site adjacent to Jesup Green on the Saugatuck River.:308 Considerable discussion took place about how to raise the money for the new library and the proposed site, a former landfill.