Concord Free Public Library Celebrates 150 Years
In 1851, the Commonwealth passed an act to authorize Massachusetts cities and towns to establish and maintain public libraries. Concord approved the creation of the Concord Town Library, its first public library, that same year. Without a permanent location, the Library kept its collection, which began with approximately 1,300 books from the Concord Social Library, first in the Court House and then in the Town Concord Free Public Library (front of building) 1873 by House on Monument Square. The Concord Town Library Augustine H. Folsom was a modest operation. At its most significant, it consisted of 7,000 volumes and did not have a building of its own. William Munroe initially thought to provide for the Concord Town Library in his will. As time passed, though, Munroe felt that Concord, with its rich historical and literary heritage, deserved something better.
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Discover CONCORD | Fall 2023
Concord Free Public Library reference department, 1873 by Augustine H. Folsom
Munroe concluded that the Library would need to sit near the center of town if it were to be the center of Concord’s culture and history. However, a house built by James Holden in 1740 and occupied by one of Concord’s most prominent residents, lawyer Nathan Brooks, his wife, abolitionist Mary Merrick Brooks, and their son, George Merrick Brooks, stood on the lot that Munroe preferred. Munroe bought the central part of the library lot at the Main Street and Sudbury Road intersection from George Brooks in 1869 for four thousand dollars. Brooks soon moved his family’s home to Hubbard Street, where it still stands today. The lot provided a central and accessible location for the planned Library building as Munroe had envisioned and allowed for future expansion. To that end, Munroe also purchased land behind the Brooks property, made the necessary legal arrangements with abutters to prevent new construction between their homes and the library lot, and
All photos courtesy of the Concord Free Public Library
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As the Concord Free Public Library celebrates its 150th anniversary, we reflect on some important historical moments. William Munroe (1806-1877) was the son of pencil maker and cabinetmaker William Munroe (1778–1861) of Concord. He was also the founder and primary benefactor of the Concord Free Public Library. The younger William was born in Concord in 1806 and entered the dry goods and textile business in Boston, New York, and abroad, where he made his fortune. Just before the Civil War, William retired and returned to Boston but spent time at his family’s home on the corner of Main Street and Academy Lane in Concord every summer. At this time in his life, the idea of a new library took shape, one that would build on the long tradition of libraries in Concord. Concord’s first library, the Charitable Library Society, was formed in 1795 and was a subscription library supported by membership fees. In 1821, the collection and membership were absorbed into the new Concord Social Library. The new library was a proprietary model owned jointly and operated by shareholders—a model common in New England then.
BY ANKE VOSS