Parsons Family

At its 1896 meeting, the Reading Club formed a committee to solicit funds from the townspeople for a library building. Among the parties approached were members of Alfred’s Parsons family. Three Parsons boys- Edwin, George and Charles- were raised in Alfred and educated at Alfred Academy. They removed to Savannah Georgia in the 1840’s where they became very wealthy cotton brokers. After the Civil War, the Parsons brothers invested heavily in railroads, iron foundries and other industries. Rev. John Parsons and brother George Parsons gave a large sum of money to build a library in memory of their brother Edwin and their parents. The library is an exact copy of the library in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The Parsons also funded the building of the Kennebunk Free Library and they purchased Parsons Beach in Kennebunk.