Books come in all shapes, sizes, and ages, as do the libraries that house them. Think the little, street-side, take-a-book/leave-a-book stands that have popped up all over the place during the past few years, then consider the grandeur of the twin marble lions (their names are Patience and Fortitude, and they’re over 100 years old) serving as sentinels at the steps of the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.

The Knoxville Public Library at 112 East Main Street doesn’t have a pair of lions, but it does have a pair of houses—the Glover House and the Brewster House. They each have their own kind of grandeur, and they were always neighbors, but became physically connected just a couple of years ago. They have a combined age of about three centuries, and are themselves literally full of history.

Hilma Cooper remembers both houses from her girlhood in Knoxville. The Glover House belonged to her Uncle Ed and Aunt Jane Glover; Uncle Ed was an attorney, a Civil War enthusiast, and author of local history, and Aunt Jane was a librarian for the Knoxville Public Library and “quite a talented chef,” Hilma says. Abbie Billings Brewster, a widow for most of her adult life, owned the Brewster House next door.

“I knew her as a child,” Hilma says. “She was kind of a fixture in the town.”

Eugene Seelye, a Knoxville historian and author, describes Abbie Billings Brewster as “a very prim and proper lady” who always wore a hat and gloves. Her elegant home had a ballroom on the third floor (more on that later).

Ron Meinstereifel is the historian and museum coordinator for the extensive and eclectic collection of mostly Knoxville-related artifacts and memorabilia that have found a home in the Glover House.

“The neatest thing about the town is that the people preserved things,” Ron says. A houseful of things. There’s a train room with a model of the borough when it boasted two trains and two train stations, a textile room, a military room, an education room, a genealogy room, a music room—you get the idea. A retired psychologist who says he “needed something to do,” Ron has been spending his days unpacking boxes, making discoveries, and sharing what he’s learned about Knoxville’s history.

The Glover House was built in the mid-1820s, and was known in its early years as the Alba House, after the original owner and builder Aaron Alba. It’s a structural marvel, with the original pine beams and sections of the stone foundation remaining—and doing their jobs—in the cellar. The walls supporting the well-crafted rooms are still straight and sturdy. Alba family members lived there until 1886, when the home was sold to Hiram P. Gilbert and his wife, Carrie Bell Billings Gilbert, who was a granddaughter of Silas Billings, one of Knoxville’s earliest businessmen. Abbie Billings Brewster was also a granddaughter of Silas Billings. In 1898, ownership of the home passed to Carrie Gilbert’s mother, Helena S. Billings. She died ten years later, and the house went to her daughter, Jessie K. Beach, and then to her daughter, Ruth Gee, who would have been Silas Billings’ great, great, granddaughter.

Uncle Ed (1908-1996) and Aunt Jane Glover (1916-2009), as they were known to Hilma and her cousin, Brian Edgcomb (who passed away in April 2025), bought the home in the 1940s. The house was willed to Hilma and Brian, eventually donated by them to the library, and later became the museum.

The Brewster House has been home to the library since 1957. The library was founded in 1921, and its original home was on the second floor of the town hall on Case Street. In 1947, Mrs. Ethel Ashton provided the means for the library to purchase and renovate the Episcopal Chapel on Main Street for its use. Mrs. Ashton died in 1955 and, via her bequest, the library was able to purchase the Brewster House from Ernest Billings Brewster, Jr., grandson of Horace and Abbie Brewster.

Horace Brewster was a successful hotelier in San Diego. Eugene, the Knoxville historian who now lives in Wellsboro, writes that Horace and Abbie were married in Elmira in 1890 at her parents’ home. They went to California to live, but eventually returned to Knoxville. Horace built the Queen Anne-style house in 1910; its grand interior included a graceful staircase, carved newel posts with rose-shaded gaslights (they’ve since been electrified), pocket doors, turret room, chandeliers, and a third-floor ballroom.

That ballroom space, complete with tables, tablecloths, and seating that hearkens back to an earlier century, is now available to rent—maybe for a shower or a tea, or some other small get-together. The adjoining turret room, accessible through a hobbit-sized passage, has a view of Main Street. It’s a cozy spot where it’s easy to envision curling up with a good book. Hilma says she remembers when she first saw the room it had college banners in it, so maybe there were some other activities going on there, too.

Improvements and renovations were made to the library about thirteen years ago. Then, after the Glover estate was settled and the house came into the library’s possession, the project to connect the two homes was conceived. As part of the Glover’s commitment to their community, the estate had established the Deerfield Charitable Trust (deerfieldcharitabletrust.com) in 2010. Through that entity the money was made available for the project, which included, in addition to connecting the homes, adding a children’s library/play area, a mezzanine overlooking that section (a great place to sit and read), creation of the museum in the Glover House, and infrastructure improvements.

“Everyone is really excited about the space,” says Erin Cook, library director, of the new children’s area. “A big part of libraries is community.”

“I’m delighted with the way it’s being used now,” says Hilma, adding that it’s still possible to be in the home that was her uncle and aunt’s “and see how it used to be.”

Cheryl Edgcomb, Brian’s wife, has, since her husband’s death, found herself in possession of an abundance of family and community history. She laughs when she tells Ron that “this is all documents and things I’ll be donating to you.”

He’s looking forward to it.