One Veteran's Contribution

             Were you aware that our city library owes the founding of its National Historical landmark library to a veteran of The Civil War?

The original benefactors of our library were Jonathan Bowers Winn and his brother Timothy. These two men made a bequest totaling $ 5,200.00 to be used for the purpose of planning a library. However, it was Charles Bowers Winn who bequeathed a sum total of $200,000 for the specific purpose of building a library for the citizens of Woburn. Charles had a strong sense of civic responsibility and like many citizens of Woburn was very patriotic. Charles, like most young men, had many ambitions but chief among them was a desire to join the Union Army to help restore our nation by winning the Civil War. Charles attempted to enlist many times but state officials rejected him because he was very sickly and could not, in their opinion, meet the physical requirements needed to be a soldier.  For reasons unknown, the State of Massachusetts finally relented and allowed Charles to become a soldier in the Union Army.

It was common practice during the Civil war for many states to bestow a high rank such as Colonel to prominent citizens who were wealthy and leaders among the community. Massachusetts’ officials tried their best to convince Charles to accept a high rank but Charles insisted that he serve in the Union Army as a private. Consequently, Charles Bowers Winn served as a private during the waning years of the Civil War. He took part in a number of hotly contested battles in 1864 in the vicinity of Petersburg.

 It was this same humble man that bequeathed the lion’s share of money to his beloved City of Woburn at his death in 1875. Charles insisted that the library not bear his name but instead be called the Woburn Public Library. Nevertheless, Charles did request that some sort of inscription be placed on the building honoring the memory of his father, Jonathan Bowers Winn.

Our present library now exists mainly because of the efforts of this brave, unassuming, and humble veteran of the Civil War. Our library was placed on the list of National Historic Landmarks in 1987. The Woburn Public Library is one of our city’s iconic buildings and it stands as a symbol of pride for our community.

Kevin Giroux via Yes to Our Library