Bennington Free Library


Bennington Free Library is a public library located at 101 Silver Street in Bennington, Vermont.

History

The library was established in 1865, by Trenor W. Park and Seth B. Hunt, on the corner of Main and Silver Streets. It originally was a room on the second floor of the "unfinished, commodious brick building" which they "fitted up as a library". The total cost the two donors was 10,000 USD. In 1897, the Town of Bennington voted to appropriate funds in support of the library, making library materials available and free of charge.
In 1936 a new library was constructed adjacent to the original. Donated in memory of Trenor W. Park by his son, Trenor L. Park, the new library was built on the Park family land. 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.