A Classic Bookshop in a Classic Setting

Jan Owens, owner of the Millrace Bookshop.

Millrace Bookshop in the Gristmill looks a little like a scene from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. The store is located on the second floor of a historic mill, positioned about as picturesquely as possible, on the bank of the Farmington River, in Farmington, Connecticut. The setting is so like one in the famous children's book, that at one time Millrace owner Jan Owens was inspired to orchestrate, with the community, an entire larger-than-life Wind in the Willows scene on a nearby river island, complete with Toad, Ratty, Mole, and Badger.

In 1971, Owens worked as a manager of Millrace, which had been opened that year by "two young men straight out of college," she said. She was finishing a graduate degree in library science at the State University of New York at Buffalo, when, a few credits shy of her degree, she bought the store from the owners, who had taken the 1,000-square-foot, empty space and "created a charming layout," she said. "I wouldn't have had the creative energy, but they took the space in the old grist mill and converted it. It had been used to grind grain and had been empty for years."

"The boys" she said, put in a large picture window, so the bookstore, which occupies the second floor of the mill, gets a spectacular view of the river, which Owens said she tries to incorporate into book parties and readings whenever possible.

A view of the scenic landscape surrounding the Millrace Bookshop.

One of the most memorable, said Owens, was in 1985 when Millrace entered a Wind in the Willows display contest sponsored by publisher Henry Holt, which was reissuing the classic. Owens teamed up with Miss Porter's boarding school for girls to create larger than life papier mache models of the River-Bankers. From there, the entire community got involved.

"I had a high school boy working for me who loved the book," said Owens. "He told me, 'If you have the figures made, I've got a fiberglass rowboat, and I'll row them out to the island.' It was October 20th, so it could have been rainy and cold, the figures could have washed down the river. But it was a beautiful Indian summer day. The local newspaper ran a wonderful article about it. Throughout the day over 100 people of all ages came through, from the local nursery school to people who were quite old, who read the article in the paper and had loved the book. It was one of those events that was meant to be. All 33 years we've done things like that with the town, when it seems right and we could have fun doing it."

Owens talked with BTW about the longevity of the store and said that reps have been an important part of her success and, in the beginning, her education in bookselling. She mentioned that she owed a debt of gratitude to independent rep Jim Beardsley, who represented Barre Publishing. "He and other reps really taught me how to buy, they gave me the courage."

The Millrace Bookshop storefront.

Book Sense has been another important resource, she said. "I know you might ask me about it, but I have to tell you now about Book Sense. I absolutely love it. It's a wonderful buying tool for small bookstores. It gives you a much broader vision of the publishing world than you would have otherwise. And my people come looking for the Book Sense free pick-ups.

"I have to tell you a story: On July's recommendations is The Preservationist. I always like to look at other books people have chosen. Well, it turns out the author, David Maine, was born in Farmington, Connecticut! We've got a lot of retired schoolteachers who shop at the store, and I asked one if she knew David Maine. She said, 'You know, I had him in my fourth-grade class.' I asked her how she was able to remember him, and she said, 'He was a boy you'd never forget.'"

Owens loved The Preservationist. "He did a wonderful job.... I read it right away and started handselling it. We never would have found that book without Book Sense. That's why the program is so good."

Over her 33 years as the store's owner, Owens has ensured that Millrace has been a "third place" for Farmington. All along Owens has held contests, book parties, and readings, often collaborating with other Farmington businesses, organizations, and schools. "It's a good thing being in one place for this long," she said. "It roots you in the community." -- Karen Schechner