Scoville Memorial Library
🏢 Bibliomation Consortium · Salisbury, Connecticut
Scoville Memorial Library
On April 9, 1810, Salisbury voted the first tax-supported public library appropriation in the United States — and the institution that grew from that vote now occupies an 1894 grey-limestone Romanesque Revival landmark whose Wagner clock tower has chimed the quarter hours over Main Street for more than 130 years.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 10am–5pm |
| Wednesday | 10am–5pm |
| Thursday | 10am–7pm |
| Friday | 10am–5pm |
| Saturday | 10am–4pm |
| Sunday | 1pm–4pm |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 38 Main Street, Salisbury, CT 06068
Phone: (860) 435-2838
Website: scovillelibrary.org
Plus Code: 87H8XHJG+9X (Salisbury, CT)
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👋 Use the Library Online
📖 About Scoville Memorial Library
Scoville Memorial Library traces its roots to 1771, when 39 Salisbury residents pooled funds so that Richard Smith could import 200 books from London. That collection evolved into the Bingham Library for Youth in 1803, and on April 9, 1810, a Salisbury town meeting voted to draw $100 from the treasury for books — the first recorded use of public tax revenue to support a free library in the United States, predating any state or federal library law. The present building opened in 1894, funded largely by a $12,000 bequest from Jonathan Scoville — a Salisbury-born iron magnate, mayor of Buffalo (1884–85), and U.S. Representative — and built from locally quarried grey limestone by Providence architects Stone, Carpenter & Willson, who also shaped several buildings on the Brown University campus. Grace Scoville donated the landmark tower clock, whose chimes are drawn from Wagner's Parsifal and ring the quarter hours over Main Street to this day. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 29, 1982, the library holds more than 30,000 items and is governed by an independent board of trustees.
⭐ What makes this library special
- America's first taxpayer-supported public library — on April 9, 1810, Salisbury voted the first-ever public tax appropriation for a free library, predating any state or federal library law
- 1894 Romanesque Revival landmark — 35 × 129-foot grey limestone building by Stone, Carpenter & Willson (Providence, RI); 55-foot clock tower; National Register of Historic Places since 1982
- Tower clock donated by Grace Scoville plays quarter-hour chimes from Wagner's Parsifal — audible on Salisbury's Main Street since the 1890s
- 15th-century stone carving from Salisbury Cathedral, England, displayed above the reading-room fireplace — a gift from the English Salisbury that shares Connecticut's town name
- Oral History Project: recorded community stories from Salisbury residents alongside local history and genealogy collections covering Salisbury, Lakeville, and Ore Hill
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Scoville Library cardholders access Connecticut's statewide digital collections through Bibliomation:
📚 Services
- Circulating collection of 30,000+ items: fiction, nonfiction, audiobooks, and DVDs
- Local history and genealogy research collection covering Salisbury, Lakeville, and Ore Hill
- Oral History Project: recorded community stories from Salisbury residents
- Library of Things — borrowable items beyond traditional media
- Museum passes: free or discounted admission to regional museums
- Home delivery service for patrons unable to visit in person
- Room reservations (Oak Room available for community use)
- Ancestry Library Edition (in-library access)
- borrowIT CT — card accepted at 191 participating Connecticut public libraries statewide
🎸 Programs
- Wednesday Storytime with Miss Kyla — weekly children's storytime (songs, stories, crafts), 10:30–11:00am
- Current Fiction Book Group — meets second Saturday (except July & August), 4:00pm in the Oak Room
- Art & craft workshops for tweens, teens, and adults (bookmaking workshops with guest artists)
- Adult programming: life drawing, classical guitar performances, author talks
- Recorded programs available on the library's YouTube channel for remote access
📍 Nearby Libraries in Connecticut
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in Salisbury · Browse all Connecticut libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Scoville Memorial Library considered the first publicly funded library in the United States?
On April 9, 1810, a Salisbury town meeting voted to draw $100 from the town treasury to purchase books for the local library — the first recorded instance of any American municipality using tax revenue to support a free public library. This predates any state or federal library law, and the act is recognized by historians as a founding moment for the American public library tradition. A historical marker on the building commemorates the occasion.
Who was Jonathan Scoville, and why is the library named after him?
Jonathan Scoville (July 14, 1830 – March 4, 1891) was a Salisbury native who became a prominent iron industrialist, mayor of Buffalo, New York (1884–85), and a U.S. Representative from New York (1880–83). He left a $12,000 bequest to fund a proper library building for his hometown, and other Scoville family members added further contributions. The resulting 1894 grey-limestone building bears his name as a memorial.
What is the story behind the clock tower and its unusual chimes?
The four-faced tower clock was donated by Grace Scoville when the building opened in 1894. Rather than conventional Westminster chimes, the clockwork plays quarter-hour passages from Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal — an unusual choice that reflects the cultural aspirations of the library's Gilded Age benefactors. The chimes have rung over Salisbury's Main Street continuously for more than 130 years.
What is the 15th-century stone carving above the reading-room fireplace?
Set into the reading-room fireplace is a medieval stone carving sent as a gift from Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire, England — the English Salisbury that gave Connecticut's Salisbury its name when the town was incorporated in 1741. Dating to the 1400s, it is one of the few pieces of medieval European ecclesiastical stonework on permanent display in a Connecticut public library.
🎨 This library lends museum passes. See how library museum passes work and find other libraries that lend passes museum passes by state.
📜 This library has genealogy & local-history resources. See how library family-history research works and find other libraries with genealogy collections genealogy libraries by state.
🧰 This library lends a “Library of Things.” See what you can borrow besides books and find other libraries with a Library of Things Library of Things by state.
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