The History of the Marian Fell Library
Marian Fell was the oldest daughter of Edward Nelson and Anne Palmer Fell, founders of Fellsmere.1 When Marian was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, on September 18, 1886, her parents were living in Narcoossee, Florida.2 Narcoossee was an English agricultural settlement established in 1884 by E. Nelson Fell after his older brother, Arthur Fell, bought 12,000 acres northeast of St. Cloud to develop.3
Marian and her sister, Olivia, and brother, Nelson, spent their early childhood years in Narcoossee. After times became difficult and Narcoossee floundered, in 1902 the Fells moved to Kazakhstan, Siberia, Russia, where their father, Nelson Fell, managed copper and coal mines, and a smelting works for over six years.4 While in Siberia, the children learned to speak Russian which Marian used to her advantage upon the family’s return to the United States in 1907, when she was 21.5 Although the family moved to Warrenton, Virginia, her father grew restless in retirement at age 52, and a year later on March 11, 1910, Nelson and Anne Fell bought 118,000 acres of land in Florida to establish the community of Fellsmere.6
After the Fellsmere Railroad was built and in operation by September 1910, development of Fellsmere accelerated at a rapid pace.7 By January 1913, the population of Fellsmere was 503, making it the second largest town in St. Lucie County; only Ft. Pierce was larger.8 In early January 1913, local builder Victor Hadin announced that “the Fellsmere library had been shipped from the publishers and would arrive in Fellsmere any day.”9 By February 6, 1913, the library had been installed at the store of G.M. Chambers, a two story wood frame building located on the west side of Broadway between New York Avenue and South Carolina Avenue. Chambers’ department store also housed the first ice cream parlor in Fellsmere, making it the perfect location for a library business-wise. Books were made available at a rate of 2 cents per day.10
While Fellsmere was being developed, the Fell family (including Marian) would occasionally come down to Fellsmere to escape the cold winters in Virginia. The Fells would sometimes rent a cottage on the west side of North Cypress Street south of New York Avenue.11 It was during the winter of 1913-1914 that Marian developed a strong desire to build a permanent library for Fellsmere.12
Marian was instrumental in establishing the Fellsmere Library Association. On December 13, 1913, a meeting of twenty ladies was held in the parlor of Miss Ina C. Elder, a teacher and later the principal of the Fellsmere Public School.13 The purpose of the meeting was “to formulate plans and adopt an organization to take over the social interests of Fellsmere and guide her advancement in civic and intellectual matters.” As a result, the Fellsmere Library Association was formed with the following officers: Mrs. W. D. (Vieve) Cottingham as President; Mrs. Ernest H. (Beatrice) Every as First Vice-President, Mrs. R. L. (Frances F.) James as Second Vice –President; Miss Emma Hall as Secretary, and Mrs. C. H. (Helen Louise) Piffard as Treasurer.14 The law firm of Vans Agnew & Crawford prepared the “Bylaws of the Fellsmere Library Association”.15 Patrick Vans Agnew was the husband of Marian Fell.16
On January 18, 1914, the first meeting of the “incorporators” of the Fellsmere Library Association was held during which the officers were formally elected.17 The primary objective of the Association was to building and maintain a public library.18 A collection of approximately 350 books was assembled and 38 ladies volunteered to operate a temporary library and reading room in a portion of the Fellsmere Tribune editorial office on February 28, 1914.19 Mrs. W. S. Cottingham was elected as the first president of the Association. Marian’s mother, Anne, and sister, Olivia, were founding members.20 The Fellsmere Tribune published a monthly schedule of the volunteers and the respective dates the ladies were to staff the library.21 In December 1914, the Fellsmere Library Association officially became incorporated.22 The By-Laws for the Association were prepared by the firm of Vans Agnew and Crawford, Attorneys-At-Law, Jacksonville, Florida. Patrick Vans Agnew was Marian Fell’s husband, and Vans Agnew and Crawford were the attorneys for the Fellsmere Farms Company.23
Marian approached her father, Nelson, with the idea of building a library but he only agreed to have the Fellsmere Farms Company provide the land on the east side of North Cypress Street. He reportedly told Marian that if she wanted the library bad enough, she would have to work to get it.24 Marian met her father’s challenge. To raise money for the library, Marian used her Russian language talents. She translated several plays and short stories of the great Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov, into English and became one of the first, if not the first, person to do so.25
Between 1912 and 1916, Scribner’s published five of Marian Fell’s translations, some of the first Russian literature to appear in English.26 The December 12, 1912, edition of the Fellsmere Farmer stated that “Considerable mention has been made in the book reviews during the past two or three months of the plays by Anton Chekhov (sometimes spelled as “Tchekoff”), “Uncle Vanya, Ivanoff, the Swan Song, and the Sea Gull”, translated from the Russian by Marian Fell. Miss Fell is hardly anything more than a young girl, and for a number of years claimed Florida as her home. She with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. Nelson Fell, Miss Olivia Fell, and Master Nelson Fell, had an attractive home near Kissimmee, where they spent a greater portion of each year, and where the two girls were taught to ride, and developed splendid physiques which stood them in good stead during their stay in Siberia. Mr. Fell had extensive mining interests in Siberia and for several years they took up their abode there. It was during their sojourn in that part of the Russian empire that Miss Fell became interested in Russian drama, and became a thorough scholar in the language, she began her researches, with the result that her book is pronounced by critics to be one of the cleverest of Russian translations, and the first attempt that has been made to translate Russian plays.
Mr. Fell is vice-president of the Fellsmere Farms Company and president of the Fellsmere Sales Company. Readers of the Fellsmere Farmer will note with pride and pleasure that Miss Fell has been so successful with her translations of the famous Chekhov plays from the original Russian into English.” 27
In May 1914, Charles Scribner’s Sons published a 314 page book entitled Stories of Russian Life by Anton Tchekoff as translated by Marian Fell.28 From the royalties she received from this book and prior translations of Tchekoff’s plays, Marian was able to finance the construction of the library in Fellsmere named after her.29
It is worthy to note that as late as 2013, the Loft Theatre Company in Royal Leamington Spa not far from Stratford-Upon-Avon in England performed Uncle Vanya based on a translation by Marian Fell. The translation by Marian Fell of Uncle Vanya is still available in paperback from Amazon.com.30 Also of note, in her lifetime, Marian Fell was a member of the Anglo-Russian Literary Society in London and was listed posthumously in Who Was Who in America and Who Was Who Among English and European Authors. 31
On February 13, 1915, local contractors Shupe and Shafer broke ground for the erection of the 22-foot wide by 34-foot long one-story library building having a 12- foot high ceiling and a brick fireplace at the south end. The building was completed in three months.32 On May 1, 1915, the library was dedicated to the Fellsmere Library Association. The dedication ceremony was held in the evening and the grounds were illuminated by electric lights and Chinese lanterns which were hung on the trees on the grounds. The library itself was beautifully decorated with floral pieces and softly but fully lit by an overhead globe. A gate was installed in the fence to the north providing access to the lawn tennis courts adjoining the library property at the southeast corner of North Cypress Street and New York Avenue.33
At 8 p.m., Marian Fell Vans Agnew accompanied by her husband, Patrick Vans Agnew, and dignitaries Mrs. W.S. Cottingham, President of the Fellsmere Library Association; C.W. Talmadge, Chief Commissioner of The Town of Fellsmere; and U.S. Senator N. P. Bryan took their places in the portico opening in the front of the building. Chief Commissioner Talmadge gave an introductory speech and presented Senator N.P. Bryan to the audience. Senator Bryan was the keynote speaker and guest of honor. At the conclusion of his speech, Senator Bryan presented the building in the name of Mrs. P.A. Vans Agnew (Marian Fell) to the Fellsmere Library Association and the citizens of Fellsmere.34
Mrs. Cottingham, president of the Association, conveyed thanks and deep appreciation for Marian Fell’s gifting of the library, to the Fellsmere Farms Company for the lots on which the building stood, and to the numerous donors of various gifts which made the library possible. In closing, she announced that the name chosen by the Association for the building was “The Marian Fell Library”.35 Marian Fell Vans Agnew arose and expressed to the audience that this occasion was the happiest moment of her life, and that she hoped the library would be of service to all the citizens of Fellsmere. To commemorate the occasion, the Association would recognize “May Day” (May 1st) as an annual event on its calendar.36
The actual deed to Lots 21 and 22, Block 101, upon which the library is situated, was given to the Fellsmere Library Association on May 8, 1915, by the Fellsmere Farms Company in consideration for the sum of $1.00, seven days after the library was dedicated.37 After the library was officially open to the public, it contained nearly 1300 books and was open on two afternoons and three evenings per week.38 After it opened, the library was used for lectures, readings, musical and poetry recitals, meetings, dances, weddings, receptions, parties, teachers’ teas, community picnics, fundraisers, and children’s programs.39
The Fellsmere Library Association used the library to host canning demonstrations, flower shows, exotic food preparation, bird shows, and other cultural events. Subcommittees were established to organize periodic presentations on architecture, art, horticulture, and music. Officers in the Florida Audubon Society, Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs, and the Florida State Board of Health presented lectures, and area woman’s clubs occasionally held meetings in the library building.40
Om May 6, 1915, the Fellsmere Library Association added Edward Nelson and Anne Fell, Marian’s parents, and Marian Fell (Mrs. P.A. Vans Agnew) to the list of honorary members.41 Also, in May 1915, the Fellsmere Library Association was admitted to the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs, and its membership increased to 91.42
By July 1915, there was a “tablet” added over the front entrance bearing the superscription “Marian Fell Library, 1915”. It was very decorative and was presented by Mrs. E. Nelson (Anne) Fell, Marian Fell’s mother.43
In 1916, Nelson Fell wrote a book titled Russian and Nomad, Tales of the Kirghiz Steppes about his experience in Siberia and life among the people who lived in the steppes of Russia. Marian Fell wrote an entire chapter entitled “The Turquoise Lake” about Lake Balkhash (the second largest lake in Asia), which was approximately 200 miles south of where the Fells lived for six years. Marian also wrote a poem entitled – “The Eagle’s Song”- which appears at the back of her father’s book.44 A copy of the book was donated by E. Nelson Fell to the Marian Fell Library, but it has long since disappeared from the shelves.
In mid-April 1917, a piano was purchased for the Marian Fell Library and the Music Club in Fellsmere then held all meetings there.45 A donation of $100 was made by Mrs. Helen Morse of Winter Park, wife of the famed C. H. Morse of the Fairbanks-Morse Manufacturing Company.46 Prior to the piano being installed at the Marian Fell Library, the Music Club held its meetings at various club members’ homes in Fellsmere which had pianos.
Besides being a translator and a poet, Marian was also an artist. Jamie Vans Barnbarroch, grandson of Marian Fell, in 2007, donated 14 of Marian’s paintings to the Indian River County Main Library in Vero Beach, Florida, in 2007, per Pam Cooper, Supervisor of Archives and Genealogy Department. The paintings once adorned the walls of the Marian Fell Library but now are displayed at the Archives and Genealogy Department of the Main Library in Vero Beach.
In January 1917, the Fellsmere Tribune reported that as of December 20, 1916, Mrs. Roy L. Kinney, the Treasurer, stated that the total revenue for 1916 was $694.35, a hefty sum for that time. Membership in the Fellsmere Library Association consisted of 80 active, 19 inactive, and 3 honorary members. Mrs. B. Sills, the librarian, inventoried the 950 square foot library and reported 1,447 volumes, 5 bookcases, 1 desk, 1 magazine rack, 1 reading table, 1 common table, 1 oil heater, 1 oil cook stove, 1 oil lamp, 4 reading lamps, 10 library chairs, 6 common chairs, 21 folding chairs, dishes, 1 rug, 1 door mat, and two window seats with pads.47
On April 11, 1917, Marian Fell was honored by the Fellsmere Library Association with a special reception for her “munificent gift” of the library building to the Association on May 1, 1915.48
In 1918, the Fellsmere Library Association had 76 members with $275 in revenue and a collection of approximately 1,700 books. Several thousand books were circulated each year. The Association actively solicited book donations and periodically published new acquisitions giving credit to each donor. Periodicals and area newspapers were available to patrons.49
Revenue for the library was obtained through gifts and purchases generated from members’ dues, book sales, yard sales, bake sales, dinners, special programs, card parties, and other methods. The August 24, 1918, edition of the Fellsmere Tribune ran an article entitled “Library Association Food Sale a Splendid Success”. It reported that “Many varieties of cakes, pies, and cookies were on sale, as were also home canned products, fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies, preserves, pickles, and the demand for these articles greatly exceeded the supply as was demonstrated by the very complimentary patronage which this sale received. The amount of $13.10 was realized from this sale and the sum was very satisfactory to the ladies in charge. Mrs. R.T. Atwood, ably assisted by Mrs. Edward King, were the directors of this food sale.” 50
In the same edition, another article appeared entitled “Card Party Tonight at the Marian Fell Library”. It reported that “The social committee of the Fellsmere Library Association is entertaining with an auction and 500 party, and everyone is cordially invited to attend. Delicious refreshments will be served free. The only assessment of this promising occasion will be the admission fee of 25 cents. Prizes will be awarded the successful players, holding the highest score at the close of the evening. The prizes will consist of Thrift Stamps and will greatly add to the zest of the games. This delightfully interesting party is given by the chairman of the social committee, Mrs. R. T. Atwood assisted by Miss Kathryn Whipple.” 51
During a period of little development in Fellsmere between the 1920s and 1930s, membership in the Fellsmere Library Association declined. Nevertheless, benefit parties, social gatherings, and fund raisers continued to be hosted periodically by the Association.52 Despite declining membership, a 10-foot by 12-foot addition with a 10-foot-high ceiling was built during the 1930s at the northeast corner of the library to house a kitchen.53 It had a back door on the south side.
A 1939 Fellsmere Library Association report listed the following accomplishment:
“Over 2,000 volumes on the shelves and 12 of the leading magazines on the reading table. The addition of a complete kitchen. Sponsoring of a memorial service at the Fellsmere Brookside Cemetery; a community Christmas tree; city clean-up days; giving a year’s membership in the association to each graduate of the Fellsmere High School (there were only 4 graduates that year); arranging minstrel shows; and providing other forms of entertainment for the benefit of the book fund.”54
In the 1940s, a 5-foot by 8-foot restroom was added adjacent to the back wall of the library building and south wall of the kitchen.55 Prior to the addition of a restroom, an outhouse served as sanitary facilities in the back of the building.
Except for an approximate six-year period from October 7, 1942, to February 4, 1948 (during and several years following World War II), the Marian Fell Library Association meetings were suspended due to the war effort. After the period when the meetings were suspended, Mrs. R. T. Stapp was responsible for reactivating the association. However, membership declined to 22 active members.56 By May 4, 1949, membership had increased to 32 active members.57 The Library contained about 4000 volumes.58
At the May 1, 1957, meeting, the Association adopted revised bylaws stating that six officers were to be elected biannually in the even number years to serve a two-year term. A quorum was to consist of 11 members. The purpose of the Association was changed primarily to preserving the library building and promoting its use to area children and residents to take advantage of literacy programs.59 Unfortunately, attendance at monthly meetings steadily declined from year to year, and so did volunteers who staffed the library. By 1987, there were only 10 or fewer members attending the meetings.60
Because of declining membership in the 1980s, Indian River County signed an agreement on November 10, 1987, to lease the building for $5 per year and have the Sebastian Area County Library provide paid librarians at the Marian Fell Library.61
Between January and July 1988, 3,060 people used the library; checked out 3,446 books; and 896 people attended special programs. At the time, there were 2,574 books that could be checked out and approximately 1,000 other books that were too old and too brittle to leave the library.62
The library closed on August 6, 1988, so repairs to the roof, front and back porches, steps, windows, and doors could be made.63 Also, the hardwood floors were refinished; a wooden wheelchair ramp was constructed; and the interior and exterior surfaces of the Marian Fell Library were painted. Funding was made possible through a $10,000 matching grant received in June 1988 from the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Historical Preservation, and the Indian River County Historical Society.64 Almost six months later, on January 30, 1989, the library reopened its doors.65
The Sebastian Area County Library transferred books to the Marian Fell Library during a five-year period, 1987-1992, to help ensure a stock of newer books. It also provided access to various programs for the children, young adults, and the elderly. Indian River County funds permitted the library to increase operating hours from two hours per week to 20 hours per week.66
The Indian River County lease was up for renewal in November 1992. On November 3, 1992, the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners voted to abandon operation of the Marian Fell Library, because of lack of use of the library.67 The operation then reverted back to the Fellsmere Library Association and relied solely upon volunteers. On February 2, 1993, the library re-opened after volunteers Paul Ciccarelli and Betty Bock cleaned, reorganized, and made repairs. The library was reduced to being open only three afternoons per week and four hours on a Saturday.68 At this time, because of the large Hispanic population in Fellsmere, there were 3,500 volumes of Spanish and bilingual books available.69
On October 8, 1996, the library was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places.70
In September 2003, Ruby Korman, president of the Library Association, reported that membership had declined to six year-round resident volunteers and two wintertime residents.71 The following year, 2004, the Fellsmere Library Association was dissolved, and the library was transferred to the Indian River County Historical Society.72 The Fellsmere Library Association was active for 84 years in a 90 year period between 1914 and 2004.
During later years when the Fellsmere Library Association was in existence, it supported all efforts for civic and school improvements, city and park beautification, the Volunteer Ambulance Squad, the Volunteer Fire Department, Meals-on-Wheels, the Hacienda Girls Ranch, Girl Scout Troops, the Cancer Society, and other similar fund drives.73
On November 15, 2005, the Almeda Leake Toomey Literary Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to the Marian Fell Library.74 Joel Tyson, Mayor of Fellsmere and then president of the Indian River County Historical Society, persuaded his sister-in-law, Beverly Tyson, to be the part-time librarian at the Marian Fell Library starting in 2006. This enabled the library to be open every afternoon from Monday through Friday.75
In 2006, the Beautification and Fellsmere Day Committee of the City of Fellsmere honored the past and present members (Ladies) of the Fellsmere Library Association as a group, rather than an individual, as the Grand Marshal in the March 2006 Fellsmere Day Parade. The Ladies of the Library were the surviving members of the group of about 150 women of the Fellsmere Library Association who had volunteered their time and support to the library since 1914.76
Also, the same year a new central air conditioning system, a new septic system, new sign, and hurricane shutters for the windows were installed in the Marian Fell Library.77
In October 2007, the Pioneer Preservation of Fellsmere Committee, through the Indian River County Historical Society, was formed to continue the preservation and restoration of Fellsmere’s unique history. Meetings were held at the Marian Fell Library.78 Originally starting with nine individuals, members dwindled down to just one by 2009. The sole remaining member, Richard B. Votapka, persevered in researching the history of Fellsmere and became the Fellsmere Historian.79
Beverly Tyson served as part-time librarian until 2007 when lifelong resident of Fellsmere, Janet Santos, filled the position until April 2009.80 Unfortunately, the Indian River County Historical Society did not have the funds to maintain and operate the library, so to reduce its operating deficit, it asked the City of Fellsmere to take over the Marian Fell Library.81 After several months of negotiations, the Historical Society transferred the Marian Fell Library to the City of Fellsmere on October 20, 2009, and daily operations of a functioning library ceased.82
Connie Ward, a retired schoolteacher from Stratham, New Hampshire, who traveled to Barefoot Bay in Brevard County, Florida, every winter since 1999, volunteered her time to administer her Children’s Enrichment Program at the Library from January through April. Connie held puppet shows as well as bringing various speakers and activities to the elementary school and pre-school children in the North County area. Her programs were funded by grants from the Almeda Toomey Literary Foundation. Connie provided books to children which were made possible by a grant from the Libri Foundation and courtesy of the Indian River County Historical Society and the City of Fellsmere.83 Unfortunately, Connie Ward died of cancer on January 13, 2019, coincidentally the same day that Marian Fell’s mother, Anne, died.84
In 2010, the City of Fellsmere hired the architectural firm of Renker-Eich-Parks of St. Petersburg, Florida, to prepare a “Condition Assessment Report” of the Marian Fell Library. The 98-page report was completed on August 2, 2010. It assessed the existing physical characteristics of the building, issues with present codes, detailed a scope of work for the interior and exterior of the building, and the probable costs of recommended improvements.85 During 2013, the firm drafted the renovation and remodeling plans for the library.86
In 2014, the Marian Fell Library was completely renovated and restored under the direction of Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker, Mayor Susan Adams, and the Fellsmere City Council. Finally, funds for the restoration of the Marian Fell Library were made possible by a $50,000 matching grant through the Florida Department of State Division of Historic Resources and $25,000 from the City matched by $25,000 through the small category grants program. The restoration included handicapped parking and a new wheelchair ramp, updated restroom to meet the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, an updated kitchen, new air conditioning system, repairs to the floor in front of the fireplace, and more. All the renovations were made in compliance with historic preservation guidelines. “We accomplished everything we set out to do,” said City Manager Jason Nunemaker.87
Connie Ward continued to use the Marian Fell Library for her Children’s Enrichment Program until 2018. Her program was then transferred to Media Specialist Karen Newkirk at the Fellsmere Elementary School.
For some time between 2010 and 2017, the Marian Fell Library was used as an office by Indian River State College employee, Sandra Zavala, M. S., Program Specialist for Farmworker Jobs and Education Programs.
During 2018, Patti Fuchs, a Fellsmere resident and Children’s Librarian of the Indian River County Library System, was successful in re-opening the Marian Fell Library as a year-round lending library once more. Patti Fuchs was instrumental in having the City of Fellsmere partner with the Indian River Board of County Commissioners to re-open the library under the County’s library system.
The Grand Reopening was held on January 24, 2019, and ever since the library has been open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. every week. The Marian Fell Library continues to offer adult, young adult, and children’s book collections, three public computers, and WIFI.88 Patti Fuchs also holds special events periodically for children in the local area. It is hoped that the Marian Fell Library will continue to indefinitely serve the ever growing population of the City of Fellsmere and surrounding area.
The Marian Fell Library remains as the oldest library building in Indian River County. It serves as a legacy to Marian Fell and the Fell family in the history of Fellsmere.
NOTE: As a matter of historical interest, the grandmother and aunt of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, author of The Everglades: River of Grass, lived in the house at 75 North Cypress Street (Lots 7 and 8, Block 116) in Fellsmere directly opposite the Marian Fell Library. Marjory’s grandmother’s name was Aletha Catherine White Stoneman and her aunt’s name was Kate Stoneman Rundell.89 Aletha Stoneman died on June 8, 1915, at age 83, having only moved into the house in January 1915.90 However, Kate Stoneman Rundell lived for another 21 years in Fellsmere and died on October 15, 1936, at age 77.91 Both Aletha and Kate are buried in the same grave in the Fellsmere Brookside Cemetery.92
Kate sold the house to her sister, Stella Moles, on September 28, 1936, and died the following month, 17 days later.93 Stella Moles sold the house to Joseph and Dorothy Bussey, owners of the Fellsmere Cash Grocery (at the northwest corner of Broadway and New York Avenue) on October 31, 1936.94 The Busseys owned the house until January 3, 1949.95