In 1797, Rev. Daniel Wilkins, Amherst’s first minister, left his library to the town to create a town library. In 1859 the voluntary Amherst Library Association was formed and in response to their burgeoning book collection, the first library building in the town was built. It was dedicated on April 30, 1892 and designed by Boston firm Means and Gilbert.

The first renovation of the library was completed in 1911, tripling the available space inside the building, adding decorative features, and raising the height of the building. At the dedication, Dr. Edward Spalding presented the library with a portrait by Gilbert Stuart of Charles H. Atherton, a prominent lawyer and politician, and the name of the library was formally decreed to be the Amherst Town Library.

A second renovation in 1971 modernized the library extending the building to the rear, adding a large reading room, and a basement meeting room that later became the children’s library. In 1987, a third renovation and addition of was completed. Mimicking the architecture of the 1911 building, a mezzanine was added for stack room and many architectural features which had been lost behind walls and dropped ceilings were recovered. The building was wired for automation and made completely accessible to handicapped patrons. As a result of these improvements, the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Charles Atherton, which had been on loan to the Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, for many years was returned to hang over the circulation desk.

Photo courtesy of the Friends of the Amherst Library