This month, a very small building, the Upperville Library, is celebrating a very big birthday – its two-hundredth. The library's annual Membership Tea will take place September 19, 2004, on the grounds of the library in recognition of this milestone. The free festivities begin at 3 pm, when noted historian Eugene M. Scheel will speak about Upperville's past and legacy. Special guest Michael A. Smith, a direct descendant of the first occupant of the building in 1804, will be in attendance. The library will offer a free selection of books in need of new homes, as well as a variety of sweet and savory treats. Chamber music from the Piedmont School of Music will begin at 4 pm.

Located squarely on Route 50, adjacent to Trinity Episcopal Church, the Upperville Library may appear, to cars whizzing through town on their way elsewhere, to be just another picturesque cottage built of handsome beige and white stone. But the building deserves more than a passing glance. It is the smallest library in the United States at 12 ft by 12 ft, and it is one of the oldest, built in 1804. In addition to its long history as a lending library, it is emerging as an important gathering spot for Upperville residents who are attracted by its dedicated staff and community-building programs.

Anne Zimmer, an Upperville resident who now volunteers at the library, has been connected to the building for most of her life. It was her aunt and great-aunt who, with the help of other ladies, turned it into a library in 1927.

Pauper Patty

The building began its life as the office of Dr. T.W. Smith, who built it for his obstetrics practice in 1804. After Dr. Smith closed his practice in 1845, it was once used as a shelter for a woman in need. As Zimmer tells it, after the Civil War, the owners of the building allowed a freed slave, called "Pauper Patty," to sleep in the attic because she had nowhere else to go. Patty eventually died in that attic, and the town raised the money to bury her.

After that, the building was used as, among other things, a tearoom.

When the ladies of Upperville started the library in 1927, it was an immediate success. Librarians had a unique system for getting the word out about the library: they delivered books to people in their homes in baby carriages. Zimmer also recalls one librarian who had a peculiar shelving system – by the color of the book jacket.

"The library is an anachronism," Zimmer says. "We want to try to keep that going. We have no computer and no telephone. I haven't the slightest idea how many books we have. We do have a system, but it's not that tightly run."

Zimmer and Dorothy Gow, the president of the association that runs the library, believe that's what makes the Upperville Library unique. Gow says people want a sense of community, a tie to the others who live in the town. She says, "We are still a lending library, but we are turning into a historical society that is really interested in the history of the area."

Meet Your Neighbor

That's why Gow's "History Then and Now Series" at the library has spawned a program called "Meet Your Neighbor," a series of presentations by Upperville and Middleburg residents with interesting stories to tell. Presenters in this series so far have included Zimmer and her husband Fred, a writer and an artist respectively, who shared stories of their extensive travels in Asia, and Edith Fox and Helen Carr, two African-American women in their 90s who spun tales of life in hunt country when they were girls.

Several more eclectic and interesting speakers and presentations are planned for the coming months, many of which will focus on the old homes of the area. Zimmer also heads a group of people who are writing their memoirs. The group will meet at the library twice a week beginning this month. The library also hopes to start a book group for area residents.

Annual Dues: $10

Upperville Library's annual dues are $10. For that, members gain access to a hefty selection of books – ranging from current bestsellers to children's books to books on Virginia history – and the peace and quiet of a small-town library, where they will never be distracted by the keys of a computer or the ring of a telephone.

The library is open on Thursdays, from noon to 2:00 pm, and there is a book drop available for after-hours returns.

Anne Zimmer is confident that the library continues be relevant to town residents.

"People are so busy that the community aspect of village life is becoming less and less," she says. "It would be nice to have a village center where people could come and enjoy themselves."

For the people of Upperville, its tiny library on the side of Route 50 is slowly but surely becoming that village center.