COL. HOLTON WOOD
BUSINESS LEADER
CIVIC LEADER
PHILANTHROPIST
BENEFACTOR
DERBY PUBLIC LIBRARY |
Col. Holton Wood was not a native of Derby, in fact he
was born in Montreal in 1859. However, Derby was his adopted home and
his permanent resting place following his death in 1912. He came to
Derby in 1887 to serve as the first vice president of the Derby street
railway company, the first electric railway in New England. He became
president of the company a year later and served in that capacity until
moving to Brookline, Mass. in 1899.
While he was in Derby, Wood was very active in the life
of the community. He served as a director of the Ousatonic Water
Company, Derby Gas and Electric Company, and the Birmingham National
Bank. He was also president of the Home Trust Company and the Derby and
Shelton Board of Trade. He also represented Derby in the general
assembly.
The Wood family was saddened when their 11 year old son,
Harcourt, passed away in 1897. While living in Brookline in 1901, Col.
Wood announced a memorial gift of a public library to the City of Derby
along with an additional $5,000 gift for the purchase of books which was
to be matched by a similar amount raised by the residents. The library
was dedicated on December 27, 1902 and opened on February 13, 1903. On
June 19 of every year the library observes Harcourt Wood's birthday.
The library's origin was the free reading room
established in 1868. A movement to build a permanent free library
started in 1896, and the grounds for the library were donated by the
Sara Riggs Humphreys Chapter, D.A.R. The land was originally to be used
for a permanent home for the society. In return for the land, the
Society has permanent access to space in the library for its needs.