The pride of Stanstead, ക്വീബെക്, and ഡെർബി Line, വെർമോണ്ട്, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House was നിർമ്മാണം മനഃപൂർവം astride the boundary line വേർതിരിക്കുന്ന നിന്ന് കാനഡ, യുണൈറ്റഡ് സ്റ്റേറ്റ്സ്. ഈ ശ്രദ്ധേയമായ സ്ഥാപനം ആകർഷിച്ചു 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 ഒരു ചരിത്ര സൈറ്റ് 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, കേണല് Horace Stewart Haskell. It was dedicated to Mrs. Haskell ' s late husband, കാർലോസ്, ഒരു പ്രമുഖ വ്യാപാരി. The family ' s aim was to provide the border communities with a centre for learning സാംസ്കാരിക ഉത്ഭവം. 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 "എന്നേക്കും managed and used for the support and maintenance" എന്ന ലൈബ്രറി സ്ഥിതി താഴെ.The Haskell was long said to be a scale replica of the Boston Opera House. This, however, has proven to be quite untrue. The building is, in fact, unique. ഒരിടത്തും else in the world can one sit in an opera house that is literally split in two by an international border, where most of the audience sits in the u. s. to watch a show on a stage in Canada. ഒരിടത്തും else can one find such an unusual library. The front door is in the u. s., the circulation desk and all of the books are in Canada, and the reading room is international.