POMPTON LAKES PUBLIC LIBRARY
Emanuel Einstein Memorial Building
In a 1953 referendum vote the residents of Pompton Lakes supported the
municipalization of this necessary part of the cultural life in Pompton Lakes.
Incorporated as the Free Public Library of the Borough of Pompton Lakes, the
library continues to maintain the facility donated to the community in 1912.
Emanuel Einstein, President of Somerset Manufacturing Company and Vice President
of Raritan Woolen Mills, summered in Pompton Lakes for many years prior to his
death in 1909. It was announced the year after his death that his wife, Fannie
Einstein, and children, Alice and George, had decided to perpetuate his name by
erecting and presenting to the Borough of Pompton Lakes a two-story building to
be named the Emanuel Einstein Memorial.
The original building contained a library with a reading room open at all hours
for public use. The second floor had a gymnasium and an assembly or meeting
room. The building was for the public good and in the words spoken, at the
dedication, by Judge Watson of Passaic "the magnificence of the gift to the
people of this community... It meant more to the people than a mere gift because
it represented higher education".
In early years the library offered a monthly Baby Welfare Clinic with Dr.
Vreeland and Dr. Colfax in attendance to examine babies and advise mothers. The
Assembly room was the scene of many dances and gymnastic classes. During WWII
the Red Cross used the space to hold first aid classes. In 1954, part of the
second floor was converted to a children's room. An air conditioning system was
installed in 1970. The last renovation and redecoration of the interior was
accomplished in 1975-1976. Parking spaces were doubled and a ramp built to
accommodate the handicapped.
Over the years, the library has had ten Directors: Mrs. Thomas Wood, Miss Mary
Jacobs, Mrs. David Boyle, Mrs. Laura J. Connolly, Mr. John D. Philip, Mr. Robert
Pierce, Mrs. Dorothea DeBrettville, Mr. Joseph Rosenbloom, Dr. John Donovan, and
current Director, Dr. Margaret M. Freathy.
A special Reading Garden was constructed and dedicated, in 1991, to Alice E. Van
Orden and the Einstein Family in recognition of the gift bestowed on the
citizens of Pompton Lakes.
