Current and upcoming programs and events at the Library may be found in our online Programs and Events Calendar. Find highlights and photos of some past programs below.
2022 August-October Town-wide Read of The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps by Michael Blanding.
The Library organized a Town-wide read of The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps by Michael Blanding. Residents were encouraged to pick up a copy of Michael Blanding’s book to read in preparation for the author’s visit Saturday, October 15th at 2:00 p.m. The Library also hosted Anthony Amore, Director of Security and Chief Investigator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, charged with the ongoing efforts to recover thirteen works of art stolen from the museum on March 18, 1990. Mr. Amore shared fascinating stories and insights regarding art theft and the people and reasons behind it on Tuesday, September 20th at 6:30 p.m. in Goff Hall. On Saturday, September 10th from 11:00-3:00 p.m., the Library hosted a Treasure Map and Treasure Hunt day, with a reading of author Kari Allen’s children’s book The Boy Who Loved Maps, followed by the opportunity to create one’s own treasure map and a treasure hunt inside and outside the Library. On Thursday, August 25th at 7:00 p.m., the Carpenter Museum presented a program on using maps in research, featuring historic maps of Rehoboth from the Museum’s collection. We also hosted staff from the Leventhal Map & Education Center of the Boston Public Library on August 26th at 10:30 a.m. to teach kids in grades 1-3 all about “What is a Map?” Kids practiced how to interpret maps by reading the stories being told by mapmakers, created a map of their own, and worked in small groups to answer questions about maps.
The Town-wide Read was made possible with support from the Rehoboth Cultural Council, a division of the Mass Cultural Council, and The Friends of the Blanding Library.
2022 July-August The Great Rehoboth Book Hunt
Starting July 2nd, residents were encouraged to stop by the Library and pick up a passbook to exploring Rehoboth and finding beautiful giant book covers! Passbooks are available during normal Library hours, and the book covers were always available.
Each week we placed one or two book covers around town and provided clues to their locations. The goal was to find the book cover and stamp the passbook with the stamp provided. People were also encouraged to take a picture with the book cover and share it with us in Instagram by tagging #greatrehobothbookhunt and #blandinglibraryrehoboth or send it to us via https://forms.gle/BgtyBGecNytRxVYU7 .
Those who found all 15 book covers are eligible for a goodie bag and a chance at the grand prize of a $100 gift certificate to An Unlikely Story Bookstore & Cafe in Plainville, MA.
Clues to the location of each of the 15 book covers were posted on our website, Facebook page, and Instagram account.
CLUES
Book 1
It looks old, but it’s not really.
There are two buildings at this site.
You may have been here on a school field trip.
At this location, you will find items from Rehoboth’s history.
It’s located in “the Village.”
The Strawberry Festival takes place here.
Book 2
It’s across the street from a Bicentennial Farm.
It’s on the office building of a former Town Historian.
2 x 2 x 4 x 23
The name of the street it’s on is an archaic way of saying “beautiful vista.”
This is the office of the Grand Marshall of Rehoboth’s 375th Anniversary parade.
The office belonged to the book’s author.
Book 3
There is no running water at this location.
The main building was saved and refurbished in 1968 as part of Rehoboth’s 325th anniversary.
You may find quills and slates here.
Anyone up for a game of hoop and stick?
This site served its original purpose from 1847 to 1937.
The book is displayed on a very necessary structure.
Book 4
Bring your bug spray!
Following this year’s Summer Reading theme, this book cover is located just off the beaten path.
The name of this historic location starts with The Scarlet Letter.
A street, a school, a hall, a brewery, a pharmacy, a farm, and many other businesses share their names with this site.
This site is made of pudding (stone).
A military leader was captured here.
Book 5
This one is placed on a 48 acre site.
Many Rehoboth teens worked here over the years.
You may know someone who was married here.
The book cover is displayed on a building once used for grain storage.
This site changed ownership in 2021.
Clam cakes, clam rakes, and clam bakes!
Book 6
Ferdinand is in his happy place, on a farm with flowers.
This farm is on an appropriately named Avenue.
The name of this place sounds like the March King.
Ferdinand is shopping for local corn at the roadside stand.
The street number is the revolutions per minute of a long-playing record, also the number of years Jesus is believed to have lived, the number of letters in the modern Russian alphabet, the longest winning streak in NBA history, the code for international direct-dial calls to France, and the number of innings in the longest professional baseball game in history.
The street name is alphabetically first in Rehoboth’s Precinct 1.
Book 7
The Very Hungry Caterpillar has not crawled far.
This book cover is behind a building built in 1915.
The previous building on this spot was struck by lightning.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is checking out a new addition finished in 2016.
You might be able to find a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar quite near the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar prefers to use the back entry.
Book 8
Books 8 and 9’s locations are two holes connected by a state highway.
Would you like your doughnut with a side of stone?
This location is across from the Country Dairy building.
It’s where the River meets the highway.
Check the porch!
Bonus clue: Proceed as if you are going inside to make a purchase, and surely this cover will reveal its hiding place. Pro tip: go on a Wednesday-Saturday so you actually CAN make a purchase, because these treats are incredible.
Book 9
Books 8 and 9’s locations are two holes connected by a state highway.
It’s time to make the donuts.
This location was once a stable.
It’s right near where the Road turns into a Street.
Check the picnic area!
Book 10*
The Rumney Marsh Brook and the Beaverdam Brook run through this property.
Look in the Pine Grove.
If you can’t find it, maybe a Boy Scout from across the Street can help.
Maybe you’ll see a wood turtle at this location!
The gentleman for whom this land was named was born in 1700 and died in 1776.
This land was purchased from the Rehoboth Congregational Church by the Rehoboth Land Trust.
Book 11*
This site was once known as Butterworth Falls.
There was a mill at this site from colonial times to the 1930s.
You might find largemouth bass and chain pickerel in the pond nearby.
On the 1871 map of Rehoboth, this area was called Perryville.
This site is along the West Branch of Palmer River.
41° 51.792′ N, 71° 15.494′ W
Book 12
Several rest in peace here.
The name everyone seems to know it by is not its actual name.
There used to be a meeting house at this site.
You may find a country club and a bird sanctuary nearby.
Its number is the atomic number of silicon, the number of Stations of the Cross, the number of Muqatta’at in the Quran, the number of years of Rama’s exile in the forest with Sita and Lakshman, the number of sacrificial victims of the Minotaur, the number of teams in the National Football League’s playoffs, the number of days in a fortnight, the number of the Constitutional Amendment that granted citizenship to those of African descent, the number of pounds in a stone, the number of legs on a woodlouse, the number of lines in a sonnet, the number of years number of years Edmond Dantes spent imprisoned in the Chateau d’If in The Count of Monte Cristo, the number of the Moonlight Sonata, and the number of digits on a domestic guinea pig.
This quiet place shares its name with an elementary school, an equestrian school, a restaurant, the former meeting house and, of course, a river.
Book 13
There are supplies for all creatures great and small here.
The name of the street it’s on is an archaic way of saying “beautiful vista.”
“Where’s the beef?” You can find some here!
This spot used to be home to the Cricket Hill Gift Shop.
There is a chainsaw sculpture in wood on the premises of the patriarch of this family business.
The name of this business may make you think of a dairy in Rhode Island, the author of Book #6, or a lady named Marilyn.
Book 14
This one’s on an island, sort of.
From this location, you can GAZE upon a field once used for militia training.
It’s close to a Veterans memorial.
It’s near the site of Sunday summer concerts.
It’s overlooking a field named for a Rehoboth resident who settled here in the 1700s.
Book 15
This one’s on a building that is more than 100 feet long.
Calvin Coolidge campaigned for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts here.
Would you like them on a shed? Would you like them if it’s red?
Longtime residents associate clam bakes with this location.
Does the Very Hungry Caterpillar like Green Eggs and Ham?
Congratulations to everyone who completed the Great Rehoboth Book Hunt! We hope you had as much fun as we did!
*It was brought to our attention that we’ve reversed the clues for Books 10 and 11. Sorry if we caused any confusion!
The Great Rehoboth Book Hunt was made possible with support from the Rehoboth Cultural Council and the Friends of the Blanding Library. Thanks to Francie Berger a