Oldest-Known Photograph of Woburn Public Library Discovered

Photo Credit: Joe Lipovich, Patch Staff

WOBURN, MA—The Woburn Public Library staff recently happened upon the oldest-known image of the Woburn Public Library.

>>>Subscribe to Woburn Patch for breaking news alerts and our daily newsletters.

The photo was recently discovered in the Glennon Archives' Special Collections, and was pasted into a book entitled Samuel Sewall's History of Woburn which was once owned by Grover Cleveland. Woburn Public Library Archivist Tom Doyle told Patch that Cleveland's first American ancestor, Moses Cleveland, was from Woburn.

"We were very excited," Doyle told Patch."It's pretty well dated by the date of the book, and it was pretty clear that the image was pasted into the book and that it was given to Cleveland."

The book was given to Cleveland by Library Trustee Leonard Thompson Jr. in December of 1884, the year Cleveland won his first term as the Democratic nominee in 1884. Cleveland is the only U.S. president to have ever served two terms in office.

The albumen photograph was developed by Woburn photographer Howard E. Strout, done on a cabinet card which was popular in the 19th century. The style was used commonly for portraits.

According to Doyle, Strout was well known for his portrait photographs. He resided on 202 Main Street in Woburn, but also lived at several locations in Woburn Center. Strout had studios at the intersection of Main Street and Montvale Avenue, which is currently home to Ixtapa Mexican Grill & Cantina as well as Paul Kenneth Salon and Spa.

Doyle said that the photo was discovered about a week ago while conducting inventory, and both the book and the photo can be dated to 1884 or earlier due to the lack of an electrical line in the image, as the library was electrified in 1889.

"There are many interesting elements to the book," Doyle said.