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A recent visit to the home of Dr. John Carbone, who resides in the historic Myers home on East River Street, turned out to be much more than Stephen Farrell, the curator of special collections at the Brown Library, could have ever imagined. 

Farrell and his wife had been invited to Carbone’s home to view some of his historical artifacts that were not related to Washington. However, Carbone did pull out some original papers from the Myers family that had been found following the purchase of the home. 

“When he showed me the family papers, he said, ‘this doesn’t include all of the stuff that is in the smokehouse out back,’” said Farrell. “I, of course, jumped at that opportunity to get out there and explore what was out there.”

With his phone’s flashlight in hand, they made their way to the smokehouse. After opening the door, Farrell walked up the long wooden steps to the upper floor. And there in front of him laid several worn-out cardboard boxes and an old wooden crate bound with wire. All were filled with books. 

“The very first one I opened was a manual for military surgery issued by the Confederate States Army, dated 1863, and had a name associated with it,” said Farrell. “When I saw that, I knew I had something. As I began looking through some of the other books I shouted downstairs  to my wife and Dr. Carbone in utter excitement.”

Following the discovery of this “treasure trove” of historical books, Farrell and his volunteer, Curt Casey, took Casey’s truck back to the house, loaded it with all of the books, and took them back to the library. 

“We are currently going through each one of the one hundred or so books that we found to see what we have, which is taking a copious amount of hours and days,” said Farrell. “This means referencing many of the names we found inscribed in the books and the authors. We are discovering the handwritten names of Hoy, Bonner, Myers, Camberling, and Blount,  just to name a few. There are also handwritten letters from soldiers who served during the Civil War. One of the books, from St. Peter’s Parish, is dated pre-Civil War and survived the burning of St. Peter’s. There are also inscriptions and drawings in some of the books that capture the images of the times. It brings chills to actually read and hold these artifacts in your hands.”

The majority of the books found are from the 1850s and 1860s, with the earliest dating back to 1788. 

“This find is exponentially significant when it comes to Washington’s history,” said Farrell. “What we now have in our possession is the family library of Dr. John Gray Blount Myers from the Antebellum period, which survived throughout the war years,” he continued. “These books, letters, and drawings are simply priceless. Each in its own way adds just another piece to the enormous puzzle that is Washington’s history. You not only are going through history as you thumb through the books and letters, but you are making history upon each significant discovery about our past. Each time we think we have discovered a rare find, there are seven more that are even rarer.”

Farrell added this discovery ranks right up there with the historic finds he has come across while in Washington. “I’ve seen a lot of doozies in my years in Washington, but this one is certainly very special,” said Farrell. “It has to be right up there in my top five. Finds like these are always so much fun and hold a special place in my life. Once we get everything cleaned up and figure out what we have, we will get them on display to share with our community and visitors. These historic artifacts are turning out to be an incredible resource not only for our small harbor town but the county and state as well.”