True Leaves Bookstore in Princeton to move to Sash Stalter Matson building

The Bureau County History Center is revitalizing the Sash Stalter Matson Building in Princeton, formerly the Matson Public Library, and Friday it announced True Leaves Bookstore will be a partner in that remaking.

True Leaves Bookstore, which opened in October in downtown Princeton, will lease the main floor of the building. The business is projecting to reopen in its new space in June.

“We are beyond excited to bring True Leaves, Bureau County’s only bookshop, to the historic Sash Stalter Matson building,” said co-owner Matthew Adams. “So many folks have shared fond memories of time spent at the Matson Public Library and we hope to honor those experiences by what we bring to the community.”

True Leaves co-owner Angela Adams said the move will allow the business to expand its retail offerings and host events, such as open mics, poetry slams or book signings, among others.

“We’re eager to become a gathering place for the community,” Angela Adams said.

Volunteers from the Princeton Veterans Group and Flags of Freedom have been working on the building since January.

“We couldn’t be more excited to reopen the building,” said Lex Poppens, executive director of the Bureau County Historic Center. “We’ve been working hard to give it a new purpose. Having a bookshop as a tenant makes perfect sense.”

As a nonprofit, having a tenant will allow the history center to have a revenue stream. The history center also will provide the bookstore with gift shop products to sell.

The building is undergoing a cosmetic renovation, Poppens said.

“Our goal is to have the building functioning again,” he said. “The volunteers have put in well over 850 hours to clean, paint and get the lower level ready for events and general use. When we were approached by True Leaves, they jumped in and helped get the floor ready.”

The next areas of focus will be restoring the west stair well, which was damaged from a broken water line in 2014. In addition, the top floor was once dedicated as an auditorium and would be an ideal large event space. Work will begin to restore both as soon as funds become available, Poppens said.

Construction on the former library began in 1912. It opened in April 5, 1913. Architectural firm Patton and Miller, which worked on the Matson building also worked on some Carnegie libraries. The Princeton Public Library moved out of the building in 2007. In December 2013, Robert Sash donated the building to the Bureau County Historical Society.

Robert Sash said it was important when he donated the building, it be dedicated in his grandparents memory.

“Both sets of my grandparents were lifetime residents of Bureau County, having raised their families in Tiskilwa,” Sash said. “Both of my parents, Donald Sash and Janice Stalter graduated from Tiskilwa High School along with their siblings. I grew up very closely with my grandparents who were very involved in my own development and upbringing. They very significantly installed a ‘sense of place’ and local history in me and I knew that I would return to Bureau County on a full-time basis once my professional career ended. Recognizing them through naming the Matson building for them is a very appropriate acknowledgement of their long time history with the county and their long term impact on passing on its history to their families. It’s an honor for me to be able to help preserve the history of this beautiful building by recognizing them.”

True Leaves will continue to operate from 950 N. Main St., Suite A, until it makes the move.