About

Sabra Maretta Thrall

Our Library's Benefactress

Little is known about Sabra Maretta Thrall.

What we do know confirms Mrs. Thrall was a charitable and community-minded person.

She also recognized the value of a public library and took steps to ensure Middletown citizens could have one of their own.

Mrs. Thrall bequeathed a sum of   * $30,000 to establish this new library in the heart of Middletown, New York. The original Thrall Library was built on Orchard Street.

Choosing to reinvest her wealth in her community, she helped to establish not only our library but also Thrall Hospital and Thrall Park.

Mrs. Thrall's substantial contributions significantly improved the cultural, educational, and general wellness of our community.

Her spirit of generosity and kindness lives on in our library, which exists on 11-19 Depot Street since 1995.

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(* $30,000 then would be worth nearly $800,000 today, according to The Value of a Dollar (1860 - 2014))

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For more about Mrs. Thrall and her legacy . . .

• At Thrall.org:
  • "Mrs. Thrall's Handsome Legacy" (from Middletown Thrall Library, 1901 - 1996: A Historical Study of a Small City Public Library)
  • Obituary (July 7, 1897)
  • Thrall Hospital:
    • Middletown: A Photographic History (text)
    • Photographs of Thrall Hospital
  • Thrall Library:
    • Middletown Thrall Library, 1901 - 1996, A Historical Study of a Small City Public Library
    • Thrall Library on Orchard St. (photograph)
  • Thrall Park:
    • Photograph of the Park
    • The Wallkill Soldier's Monument
• In the library:
  • Newspaper Archive - Misc. Articles (available at Thrall)
• Elsewhere:
  • Bequest Notices (newspapers via NYS Historic Newspapers)
  • Historical Marker (photograph)
  • Orange Regional Medical Center (ORMC) - History
  • Thrall Centennial Celebration - Congressional Record, remarks by Benjamin A. Gillman (Dec. 14, 2000)
  • Thrall Park (postcard)