The building that now houses the library was built
in 1897 as
a church for the Univeralist Unitarian Congregation. The church served
its congregation until the fall of 1956 when the congreation voted to
disband. The group sold the property to Walter A. Griffith of Richmond.
Griffith offered the property to the Richmond School District the
following year. Voters approved, accepting the gift of the church at
the 1957 town meeting, and passed a $7,000.00 bond to transform the
building into a cafeteria and gymnasium. After construction of a new
elementary and middle school in the mid-1980's, the church structure
was no longer needed, and the school district deeded the building to
the town in July, 1988. In 1990 voters approved a bond to renovate the
building's first floor for use as a library. The library moved from
Depot Street to the renovated space in 1991.
Construction for the second floor and mezzanine began in June 2002 and
was completed in January 2003. The second floor includes a large
community space with a grand piano, two youth libraries, and four
practice/lesson rooms.
