Chase Library, Harwich

Chase Library is the public library of West Harwich, Massachusetts. It is located in a small architecturally distinguished Colonial Revival building constructed in 1911. Efforts to build a library in West Harwich began in 1901, and reached fruition in 1906, with the gift of the home of Caleb Chase, a Harwich native who was son of a major local shipowner and shipbuilder and a successful businessman in his own right. The house, however, was not suitable for housing a library, so Dr. John Nickerson donated a corner of his large property that was near Chase's house for the purpose, and the present building, a small three-bay wood frame hip-roof building was constructed there. ()