Verona Public Library

About Us:

In the opening years of the 1890s, the little country hamlet of Verona was beginning to bustle with activity and awaken from its long and peaceful slumber as an agricultural community.  With the new railroad line running through the northern portion of the community, more people began to flock westward and with these people came a need for more businesses and churches.  It is to this setting and period that our library traces its roots.

In exploring the heritage of the Verona Public Library, it is necessary to take a  brief look at the life of its founder, Anna M. DeGolier.  Anna was born in 1836 in South Mayfield, New York, the eldest of eight children.  Because her family was living in Montreal, Rev. DeGolier went on a trip in a schooner through the Great Lakes.  While he and a companion were standing on deck one day, the boom of the sail struck and knocked them overboard, drowning the pair.  News of the tragedy reached home about a month later and with Anna being the eldest child, the burden of responsibility was on her shoulders to hold the family together.  This would be no easy task, especially in what, at that time, was a male-dominated society.  From Montreal, the family moved to Chicago where they lived for some time. While there, Anna taught at a young ladies' seminary in Evanston, only a short distance from Chicago.