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Spirit of International Cooperation - OU0749
Haskell Free Library and Opera House
Owner: DudleyGrunt
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Altitude: m. ASL.
 Region: United States > Vermont
Cache type: Virtual
Size: No container
Status: Ready for Search
Date hidden: 2014-08-13
Date created: 2014-06-16
Date published: 2014-08-13
Last modification: 2020-06-07
0x Found
0x Not found
0 notes
watchers 0 watchers
651 visitors
0 x rated
Rated as: n/a
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Cache attributes

Kid Friendly  Wheelchair Access  Listed on OCNA Only  Quick Cache  Historic Site  Password needed to post log entry! 

Please read the Opencaching attributes article.
Description EN FR

While the cache is listed as being in Vermont (USA), you can visit the library / opera house from either the US or Canada.  Visitors are permitted to approach the building from either side of the border without going through customs so long as they return directly to their country of origin.

When I heard about this site, I knew it would make for a perfect cache for OCNA.  I am also looking into listing a Guestbook cache that would technically be in Canada, so cachers could claim a find in both countries without the need for a passport or a traditional border crossing.


From Wikipedia:

The library collection and the opera stage are located in Stanstead, but the door and most opera seats are located in Derby Line. Because of this, the Haskell is sometimes called "the only library in the U.S.A. with no books" and "the only opera house in the U.S.A. with no stage". Its two addresses are 93 Caswell Avenue, Derby Line, Vermont and 1 rue Church (Church Street), Stanstead, Quebec.

A thick black line runs beneath the seats of the opera house and diagonally across the center of the library's reading room to mark the international boundary. The stage and half of the seats are in Canada, the remainder of the opera hall is in the US.

The library has a collection of more than 20,000 books in French and English, and is open to the public 38 hours a week. The building is recognized as a historic site in both countries. In the United States, it has been registered in the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. In Canada, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1985 and has been a provincial heritage site since 1977.

Vintage Postcard

From Haskell Free Library and Opera House website:

The pride of Stanstead, Quebec, and Derby Line, Vermont, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House was constructed deliberately astride the boundary line separating Canada from the United States. This remarkable institution has attracted visitors from around the world. The subject of an ongoing fascination on the part of the media, the Haskell has been featured on network news around the world and in publications such as Life Magazine, Canadian Geographic, the New York Times, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and countless others. The Haskell has been classified a historic site by the governments of Canada, the United States, and the Province of Quebec.

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House was the gift of Martha Stewart Haskell and her son, Colonel Horace Stewart Haskell. It was dedicated to Mrs. Haskell’s late husband, Carlos, a prominent merchant. The family’s aim was to provide the border communities with a centre for learning and cultural enrichment. The opera house, located on the second floor of the building, also had a practical purpose. According to the original charter, dated 1908, it was to be “forever managed and used for the support and maintenance” of the library, located downstairs.  (read more)


Logging Requirements:

1) Visit the site in person.

2) Post photo of yourself (or your GPS, if you're shy) anywhere that shows the the demarcation of the international border (shows the actual line), either outside or inside.  The photos below show a couple of examples.  The photo must show some portion of the building.

3) Find the red, bi-lingual plaque near the entrance.  The Log Password is the 5th word on the 5th line of the English paragraph.

Outside Border Inside Border Border Marker

 

Maryland Geocaching Society

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Pictures
National Register
Log entries: Found 0x Not found 0x Note 0x