The border between the United States and Canada is the longest undefended border in the world. Canada and the US have long since shared a peaceful and friendly relationship.
Over the years, the two countries have had their differences over a number of things and were even at war at one time. But all is forgiven and for the most part the relationship is amicable. From the east to the west coasts, the two countries share such monuments as the Peace Arch, the Peace Bridge and the International Peace Garden.
A little-known library on the Vermont/Quebec border emphasizes the peaceful co-existence of the two countries. It is the Haskell Free Library and Opera House. The library has two street addresses. The Canadian address is: 1 Church Street, Rock Island, Quebec. The United States address is: 7 Caswell Avenue, Derby Line, Vermont. The library also has two official languages - English and French. The front door is in Vermont and the back is in Canada.
The library and opera house is a quaint, charming and unique place to visit. The upper story houses the opera house. The stage is in Canada with most of the seats being in the United States. The lower floor is a community library with the lobby in Vermont and countless shelves of books in Canada. The reading room is in both countries.
You may think that some confusion over property lines or country borders caused the library to be built in both countries. This is not the case. About 100 years ago, Martha Haskell and her son Horace, built the library in honor of their husband and father, Carlos. He had been a prominent American merchant. She was a Canadian.
Martha had friends and acquaintances on both sides of the border and not wanting to offend anyone decided to build a cultural center that was in both countries instead of building two different structures. She thought the idea over and decided that an opera house would help to support the library.
Martha then hired a well-known Quebec architect who happened to have a partner in Boston. The two men designed the opera house/library and hired a Quebec firm to construct it. The materials were largely acquired locally. The building was completed in 1904, and cost at least $50,000, which was an enormous amount at that time.
The construction of the building on the border was a gesture of heartfelt friendship. The idea was conceived solely by Martha and not by a board or committee of which certain members would probably have objected to such an eccentric structure. This would definitely have been a drawback for both the US and Canada. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House may be the only structure of its kind in the entire world.
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