HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Maine's oldest purpose-built library and the start of Hallowell's Granite City Ghosts tour
115 Second Street, Hallowell, ME 04347
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to visit during library hours. The Granite City Ghosts walking tour that starts here is a separate paid ticket (about $30/person).
Access
Limited Access
Historic 1879-80 granite building with steps; contact the library about access.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1880 · Oldest Purpose-Built Library in Maine · Hallowell Granite Architecture · Alexander C. Currier Design
Hallowell residents began raising money for a permanent library in 1878, and the building was dedicated in 1880. It was built of local Hallowell granite, the material donated by Joseph R. Bodwell, then president of the Hallowell Granite Company and later governor of Maine. The architect, Alexander C. Currier, designed the building to resemble an English country church.
Completed in 1879-80, it is recognized as the oldest library building in Maine constructed specifically to be a library, and it still operates as one today. Originally dedicated as the Hallowell Library, it was renamed the Hubbard Free Library in 1894 following a $20,000 donation from philanthropist Thomas Hubbard.
The library anchors Hallowell's Second Street and is a centerpiece of the city's identity as Maine's "Granite City." It is also the starting point of the Granite City Ghosts walking tour, which weaves the library's history into a broader account of the granite quarries, the historic downtown, and figures connected to the area such as the midwife and diarist Martha Ballard.
Sources
The library's place in Hallowell's haunted reputation comes chiefly through the Granite City Ghosts walking tour, operated by Kennebec Creeps & Crawls. Each tour begins at the Hubbard Free Library, and the guide, who appears as the Lady in White and leads visitors by lantern light, presents the building as a place where someone may still linger.
Local television coverage of the tour has described the library as a featured stop, and the tour operator's own materials frame it as the opening setting for the evening's stories. Beyond the tour, there is no widely documented body of investigated activity at the library; the accounts are presented as local storytelling tied to the building's age and granite construction.
Visitors interested in the lore can experience it as intended, on the guided tour, while those who prefer the daytime building can simply visit the working library during its open hours.
Media Appearances
Kennebec Creeps & Crawls runs a roughly 90-minute lantern-led walking tour of Hallowell that begins at the Hubbard Free Library, where the guide, known as the Lady in White, covers the library's history and asks visitors to find out 'who still lingers' in the building before moving through the granite city's streets.
The Hubbard Free Library is a working library open to the public during posted hours. Visitors can see the 1879-80 granite interior of the oldest purpose-built library still operating in Maine.
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