On March 8, 1811, twenty-one members of the Cumberland County Bar pledged $2 annually to increase and preserve the Cumberland Law Library. Their vision laid the foundation for one of Maine’s oldest legal institutions, with early supporters including Prentiss Mellen, Stephen Longfellow, Samuel Fessenden, and Simon Greenleaf, who believed that access to legal information was essential to the profession.

Just two years after its founding and several years before Maine would become a state, the Massachusetts legislature formally incorporated the Cumberland Law Library, substantially recognizing the group of Cumberland County lawyers who demonstrated vision and initiative.

In 1815, Massachusetts enacted legislation encouraging the establishment of county law libraries and providing financial support through fees paid by attorneys upon admission to practice law. After achieving statehood in 1820, Maine passed similar legislation. Although the Cumberland Law Library did not technically qualify for these funds because it had been incorporated under an earlier statute, this distinction was apparently overlooked for several decades.

For many years, the library had been overseen by a committee of the Cumberland County Bar and its treasurer. Following the treasurer’s death and the resignations of the committee members, the library was left without effective oversight. To remedy the situation, in October 1852, the Cumberland County Bar voted to formally organize the library under Maine law, adopting bylaws and electing officers. The library’s right to receive bar admission fees was secured, and supervision of the library was restored.

When the fire of July 4, 1866, destroyed Portland and reduced the library’s entire collection to ashes, its future was uncertain. Just four months later, Mary Longfellow Greenleaf, sister of the celebrated Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, came to its rescue. Honoring her late husband, James Greenleaf, she donated the personal law library of his father, Simon Greenleaf, a distinguished attorney, Harvard Law professor, and one of the earliest supporters of the Cumberland Law Library. Mary’s extraordinary generosity gave the library a new beginning.

The year after the Great Fire of 1866, the Cumberland Bar voted to support the enactment of a statute incorporating the Greenleaf Law Library. Upon incorporation, the new library replaced the Cumberland Law Library and was “raised upon the ashes of the old.” The statute granted free access to the judiciary, and the library’s bylaws allowed members of the Cumberland County Bar to become members upon payment of admission fees and annual dues. By 1902, the admission fee was $20 and annual dues were $3.

The library grew into one of Maine’s leading legal collections under devoted stewards, including Justice Thomas H. Haskell and Librarian Thomas C. Hooper. Following Justice Haskell’s death in 1900, his widow generously donated his personal law library, further enriching the collection.

Disaster struck again on January 24, 1908, when fire heavily damaged the Greenleaf Law Library, with water causing nearly as much destruction as the flames. After salvaging and restoring as many books as possible, the library relocated in 1910 to the newly completed Cumberland County Courthouse, where designers intentionally minimized fire risks, with one observer noting there was “practically nothing to burn.” More than a century later, the library continues to call the Cumberland County Courthouse home.

Over nearly a century, the library evolved through several names, including (1) “Cumberland Law Library” in 1811, (2) “The Cumberland Law Library” in 1813, (3) “The Trustees of the Law Library in Cumberland County” in 1852, and (4) “Greenleaf Law Library” in 1867. In time, it would acquire another name in honor of two remarkable Maine lawyers whose generosity and vision would permanently shape the institution: Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves.

Brothers Nathan Cleaves (1835-1892) and Henry B. Cleaves (1840-1912) left an enduring mark on Maine’s legal community. Nathan was a respected attorney, probate judge, surveyor, and library trustee, while Henry served as a soldier, attorney general, businessman, and governor. Though they differed in personality, politics, and life experiences, the library bearing their names would ultimately become a lasting expression of their shared legacy.

Henry B. Cleaves was a strong advocate for libraries. As Governor of Maine, he urged the establishment of public libraries in every town, emphasizing their educational value in both of his inaugural addresses. He and his brother Nathan were also active members of the Greenleaf Law Library.

Upon his death in 1912, Henry bequeathed his personal law library, together with a substantial endowment, to the Cumberland Bar Association. His will required that the collection be forever known as the “Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library,” remain separate from other law libraries, and be housed in a suitable location, preferably the new federal courthouse.

Henry’s bequest reshaped more than the library—it reshaped the Cumberland Bar Association itself. Because the association had existed as an unincorporated organization, it lacked the legal authority to receive and manage a gift of such size. In 1917, the Maine Legislature formally incorporated the Cumberland Bar Association, ensuring that Henry’s library, endowment, and the conditions of his will could be preserved and administered as he intended. The legislation also ratified the transfer of the library to the newly incorporated association.

Henry envisioned his library being housed in the new federal courthouse, but realizing that vision proved far more difficult than expected. Questions surrounding the location of the collection led to years of negotiations, court proceedings, and temporary storage as the executors of Henry’s will worked to honor both the letter and the spirit of his will. After nearly eighteen years of legal, logistical, and practical challenges, space was finally secured in the federal courthouse. With the collection catalogued and arranged by Marion Cobb Fuller of the Maine State Library, the Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library officially opened on January 30, 1930.

The Great Depression left the two law libraries with opposite challenges. The Greenleaf Law Library had a large collection but lacked the financial resources to maintain it. The Cleaves Law Library had a substantial endowment but a small collection that saw little use. To preserve both institutions, the libraries entered into an accord in 1933. Most of the Greenleaf collection was transferred to the Cleaves Law Library, which relocated to the Cumberland County Courthouse. Cleaves left a small “branch library” at the federal courthouse, and the remainder of the Greenleaf collection was housed in what is now the librarian’s office. By 1940, the Greenleaf Law Library was formally dissolved and the Cleaves branch library was discontinued, leaving one unified law library.

The success of the Accord of 1933 quickly became a source of pride for Maine’s legal community. A contemporary newspaper article praised the merger of the law libraries, noting that “probably no law library east of Boston will be superior.” At the time “east of Boston” was understood to reference northern New England. Members of the Cumberland Bar Association enthusiastically adopted the claim as a measure of civic pride.

The history of Cleaves Law Library has been shaped by remarkable acts of generosity. The transformative gifts of Mary Longfellow Greenleaf and Henry B. Cleaves were followed by many others. Endowments established by members of the Cumberland Bar Association—including Harry R. Virgin (through his wife Emma), William B. Nulty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Clement F. Robinson—have provided lasting financial support, while additional donations have enriched the library’s collections and historic furnishings.

Following the reorganization in the 1930s, Cleaves Law Library entered a period of remarkable stability. For the next four decades, the library expanded its collections, benefited from careful financial stewardship, and earned a solid reputation. Its success was made possible by the dedication of generations of librarians, library committee members, and supporters. Yet even during these prosperous years, library leaders recognized emerging challenges, including space limitations, increasing financial demands, and the need for greater oversight. Those concerns would shape the next chapter in the library’s history.

A major turning point came in 1981, when Maine established a new framework for governing and funding the state’s 18 county law libraries, including two each in Aroostook and Oxford Counties. Ann Pierce, who had served as the librarian of Cleaves Law Library from 1971 to 1982, became the first State Court Library Supervisor, and Cleaves became the designated county law library for Cumberland County. In 2001, Cleaves Law Library in Portland and the Penobscot County Law Library in Bangor were designated the state’s two regional court law library centers, reflecting their extensive collections, heavy public use, and broader regional responsibilities. Although Maine law continues to provide for a statewide system of county law libraries, only the two regional law libraries remain today.

For more than seventy-five years, Cleaves Law Library operated as part of the Cumberland Bar Association. By the 1990s, leadership of the Association recognized that establishing the library as an independent nonprofit organization would better position it for the future by allowing tax-deductible gifts and bequests to support its mission. In 1996, The Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library was incorporated as a Maine nonprofit corporation, and in 1997, it received recognition as a tax-exempt section 501(c)(3) organization. The following year, the Cumberland County Probate Court approved the transfer of the library’s assets to the new corporation.

More than two centuries after its founding, Cleaves Law Library continues to evolve while remaining true to its original purpose. Throughout its history, the library has endured fires, financial uncertainty, organizational change, and the rapid transformation of legal research. Each generation has faced new challenges while building upon the work of those who came before. Today the library is entering a new chapter focused on strengthening its collections, expanding research services, modernizing its technology, preserving Maine’s legal heritage, and building a sustainable foundation for the future. As the needs of the legal profession continue to evolve, so too will Cleaves Law Library.