Dr. Henry Forrest Libby
The Founder
Born April 7, 1850 on nearby Tuftonborough Neck, Dr. Libby was the second of five children of Moses and Vesta (Wiggin) Libby. Fishing, hunting and collecting local flora and fauna began at an early age and gave him a life-long love of nature. His family roots ran deep in the area as the great nephew of Reuben Libby an original settler (1769) of Wolfeborough and a local farmer who became Town Selectmen (1782-85) and State Representative (1785-93). Uncle Reuben was a great influence on the young Dr. Libby who developed similar civic interests and also became a State Representative (1915-19).
Educated at the old Wolfeborough Tuftonborough Academy (now Brewster), Dr. Libby went on to gain a dental degree from Harvard, and for many years practiced his profession in Boston. In 1875 he married Hattie E. Horne of Wolfeboro, a well-educated woman and a teacher of Latin. They had one son, Arthur Allen Libby and during their early adult years in Boston met many like-minded people through The Art Nouveau Group.
Dr. Libby, His Wife Hattie and Son Arthur
From the age of 40, nature became Dr. Libby’s primary interest and he began collecting, “…much as a child, for the study of the cycle of life.” In 1908, he began building the Museum for his collection, and opened it to the public 4 years later. At the age of 62 he retired to his home on the water’s edge opposite the Museum where he lived until he passed in 1933.
“A museum of Natural History should be a place for study, but if the specimens are not studied, it should, at any rate, be a place to flash before the eyes certain awakening influences: a spot where the mystery and drama of life, up from lost ages, may somehow make its appeal to the imagination and from imagination to curious investigation”
-Dr. Henry Forrest Libby
Dr. Libby’s legacy is the Museum which must be opened each summer to visitors. In 1956, when his family was unable to manage, The Town of Wolfeboro petitioned the Probate Court and became the stewards of its care. Dr. Libby’s dream of creating a place to “flash before the eye, the mystery and drama of life…and appeal to the imagination” remains to this day, as do the open vistas across Lake Winnipesaukee and Mirror Lake to nearby mountain ranges.
The Boston Transcript wrote, “Dr. Libby was no ordinary person. Inventor, artist, naturalist, in other parts and times his theories and creations, his broad philanthropic sympathies, and his spirituality might well have brought him wider recognition.”