The Garden Club of Barrington
Founded 1925 A member of The Garden Club of America
Barrington Area Library Garden
and the
Ruth and Robert Work Memorial Garden
Since 1976, the Garden Club of Barrington (GCB) has planted and maintained the Barrington Area Library's (BAL) west gardens, currently seen through the windows of a large meeting room.
History of the Ruth and Robert Work Memorial Garden
In 2015 the state of Illinois asked to relocate the existing Ruth and Robert Work Park from an area along the Northwest Tollway and Barrington Road exit, and the GCB recommended that the memorial be moved to the Barrington Area Library's west gardens. BAL is a fitting location since Ruth Work was both a founding member of the GCB and one of the organizers of Barrington's first library, which opened in 1915, on Park Avenue.
The Garden Club of Barrington was instrumental in the design of this lovely new terrace flower garden on the BAL property, funded its development, and maintains the gardens as a memorial to Ruth and Robert Work. Work days are held between April and October to install new plant material and groom existing shrubs and perennials.
The Ruth and Robert Work Memorial Garden was officially dedicated in 2015 as part of the Barrington's Sesquicentennial Celebration on April 26, 2015.
Learn more about the GCB's history with the Barrington Area Library and about Ruth and Robert Work in the following articles:
