It’s a Connecticut book barn that opened in 1948.
Whitlock’s Book Barn is closing this spring, according to a Facebook post and newsletter.
“I have bad news: We are closing Whitlock’s Book Barn, ending more than 75 years of bookselling from the barns on Sperry Road in Bethany, Connecticut,” according to a newsletter.
“When my wife and I purchased the shop a quarter century ago I entertained fantasies of someday retiring there,” the newsletter went on to say. “The truth is, my owning a bookshop made about as much sense as an alcoholic tending bar. I love to read, yes. But the buying and selling of books? Well, I never did have the time to learn. I don’t believe there was a year we ever broke even, much less made a profit.”
The newsletter noted, “Whitlock’s is a rare ecosystem: Elaine Sargeant, Audrey White, Basie Gitlin, Meg Turner, Dorothy Esparro, and others lovingly tended the shop and kept things running, buying and selling used, scarce, and rare books, maps, and ephemera. Meg retired in February, and Leslie Arthur, a long-time friend and bookseller, agreed to see if she could usher the store through another decade or so. We’ve concluded that it is time to shutter.
“The barns are a place of magic and memory for folks from all over the world. I recall a wonderful note from a Parisian when we first bought the place, thanking us for keeping it alive. Meg would often tell me about how much the shop meant to those who stopped by,” it said.
The newsletter ends with “Thank you all for being so loyal, it’s meant the world to us. We’ve done our best, but now it is time to say farewell.”
As the Courant has reported, books ran in the Whitlock family.
Clifford Whitlock, the paterfamilias, founded (in 1900) and ran a book business in New Haven, Whitlock’s Inc. (”Bookseller to Yale”), where his six sons learned the book trade. Clifford Whitlock was also a real estate investor. When a farm went on the market in Bethany, he bought it. The Whitlock Book Barn is on land Clifford bought in 1913.
One of the sons, Gilbert, tried to raise turkeys for sale on the property but the book bug bit him. He converted the two barns to a book business, the Courant has reported. In short, it became a special place to buy books. “Gilbert Whitlock well into his 80s and Everett Whitlock sold books until his death at age 91. Happily, the newest owner, attorney Norman Pattis, has kept their spirit alive.”
Dozens of individuals shared their feelings and memories of the Bethany bookstore, with the post garnering 41 comments, 69 shares, and 117 reactions at the time of writing.
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One commenter wrote, “So sorry to hear this. Whitlock’s is one of a kind!”
“This is so sad to hear. My daughter went to QU and discovered your store and then brought us when we came to visit. We loved it and I always recommended it to other QU parents to visit if they like to read and looking for something around the area to do,” another commenter said.
Another shared, “I have to come down one more time! MANY memories coming there on Sundays with my dad!”
“One of my favorite spots. Browsed for hours. Purchased many wonderful books. I will so miss this treasure of a shop,” said another.
Whitlock’s Book Barn is located at 20 Sperry Road in Bethany.
