Bennington Free Library is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

located at 101 Silver Street in

Bennington Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

History

The library was established in 1865, by Trenor W. Park and Seth B. Hunt, on the corner of Main and Silver Streets. Originally, and costing in total 10,000 USD, a room was "fitted up as a library" on the second floor of the as yet unfinished building. The Town of Bennington then, in 1897, voted to appropriate funds towards making library materials available free of charge. In 1936 a new library was constructed adjacent to the original, and donated in memory of Park by his son. The architect for the 1936 library was Herbert Turner. In the late 1980s, the library went through significant renovations, including the construction of a bridge between the nineteenth and twentieth century buildings.

References

External links

Official web site

Bennington Free Library Facebook
{{authority control Public libraries in Vermont Buildings and structures in Bennington, Vermont 1865 establishments in Vermont Libraries established in 1865 Library buildings completed in 1936