Residents get first look at Montclair Community Library

Residents got a sneak peak of the Montclair Community Library on Thursday.

It was the second time in as many weeks that residents in Prince William County came in droves to celebrate the opening of a new community library branch. The $16 million facility has been in the works for more than 20 years.

“When I came to Montclair in 1992, a sign stood on this property that said ‘library coming soon.’ My children were four and seven then. They’re 27 and 30 today,” said Corinne Doerr, a Prince William County Library Trustee from the Potomac District.

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Paper signs mark where books, computers, and other library materials and amenities will be placed in the 20,000-square foot building. The materials are due to arrive before Christmas. Construction crews still need to put in place the final details of the library, to include a two panels on the overhang of the roof of the library.

The new center is expected to serve 60,000 residents who live within 15 minutes of the library. Several communities surround the new center to include Montclair, Brittany, Ashland, Lake Terrapin, and Hope Hill Crossing. County officials expect between 25,000 and 75,000 materials will be checked out from the library each month.

The library is a LEED certified green building. Rainwater collected from the roof is pumped into an irrigation system that will be used to water the landscaping. The earth tone colors and stone inside the library remind visitors of nature.

“The wood and water theme follows you throughout the library until you go out onto the terrace, where you look up and almost forget you are in a beautiful library,” said Potomac District Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, who made building this library a priority.

A parking garage underneath the main floor of the library allowed for a smaller footprint for the building. The building backs to a tree line operating it from nearby homes.

Voters approved the construction of the Montclair Community Library, and the Haymarket-Gainesville Community Library that opened last week in a 2006 bond referendum. Thursday’s dedication and ribbon cutting for the Montclair library was held just days before voters head to the polls where Caddigan is being challenged by Democrat Andrea Bailey.

About 200 people came to the ceremony that was attended by several county and state officials, and Congressman Rob Wittman. The Forest Park High School Platinum Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Lara Brittain sung the National Anthem at the start of the ceremony.

The library will have community rooms, quiet studies, and computers for internet access. Patrons will also have wi-fi access throughout the building. The center took about 16 months to build.

Adjacent to the library is the Barnes House that was built in 1797. The house once located in Independent Hill was moved during the widening of Route 234. Prince William County purchased the house in 2003 to preserve its history.

The house was owned former slave Eppa Barnes, who purchased the house in 1899 from his former owner during the reconstruction period following the Civil War, said Prince William Historic Preservation chief Brendon Hannifin. The house was a plantation home before Barnes purchased the home.

Barnes died in the 1930s. He had amassed more than 300 acres of land in Independent Hill at the time of his death. The home was moved to the library grounds so historians may lead interpretive programs to share the story of post-Civil War life in Prince William County.

The library is located at 5049 Waterway Drive in Montclair. It sits behind the Lake Montclair Shopping Center.