Stockbridge Library Association

Stockbridge Library Association Stockbridge's Public Library, Museum & Archives One of the earliest libraries in western Massachusetts was founded in Stockbridge. Mrs. Z. In 1937, Mary V.

In July 1789, twenty-five residents signed a charter forming the Berkshire Republican Library. A number of important figures in the town’s history were original founders, among them, Theodore Sedgwick, Timothy Edwards, the Reverend Stephen West of the Congregational Church, and Erastus Sergeant, son of the missionary and the first physician in town. A juvenile library was founded in 1826 and conta

ined about 160 volumes. A library in Curtisville, now Interlaken, had been established in 1814, giving Stockbridge three libraries in the early part of the 1800s. From 1822 until 1861, little is known of the history of the libraries or the disposition of the books. In 1861, Nathan Jackson, a Tyringham native who was educated at the Stockbridge Academy, offered $2,000 toward a library, provided the additional sum of $2,000 could be raised by the town. Despite the Civil War, Stockbridge citizens responded by contributing another $2,500, and four hundred people gave books. The Stockbridge Library Association was formed in 1862 to accept the gifts. Dwight gave the site – a corner lot at Elm and Main streets – and J. Goodrich erected the stone building at his own expense. In July 1864, a year after Jackson’s death, the library opened with three thousand volumes on its shelves. It was one of five libraries built during the Civil War. According to bookplates of the era, the library seems to have been known as the Stockbridge Social Library or the Jackson Library. One-half of the original gift was invested as a permanent fund for the purchase of books. An upper room in the library was originally for the use of the Congregational Church: but in 1902 the town appropriated $4,200 for alterations, and the present gallery replaced the upper room. Bement gave funds for an addition to the library as a memorial to her parents. Her great-grandfather, Asa Bement, whose portrait hangs over the fireplace in the Bement Room, had been an early resident of Stockbridge and one of the founders of the Berkshire Republican Library. The new Bement wing was designed to match the original Jackson Library. The library building fund, part of which was a $10,000 bequest from Joseph Choate and part from Ellen King’s estate, was used for the lobby connecting the two wings. An open house was held in February 1938 for the formal opening of the new library, which was designed with a special area to hold its historical collection. Since then, the library itself has undergone many changes to keep pace with the town’s needs. Since its founding, the efforts and achievements of its many benefactors, board members, and directors have been responsible for the positive progress of the library.

POSTPONED: Please note that our Kayak Loan Launch Party has been postponed due to the rain. Please check our website in ...
05/30/2026

POSTPONED: Please note that our Kayak Loan Launch Party has been postponed due to the rain. Please check our website in the coming days for the new date.

UPDATE: Due to the weather, the event has been postponed. Check on our website in the coming days for the new date!Getti...
05/29/2026

UPDATE: Due to the weather, the event has been postponed. Check on our website in the coming days for the new date!

Getting ready for our Kayak Loan Launch Party!

Stockbridge Library and Berkshire Waldorf High School Present: Film Nights with Your Host, Tom Fynan Our first screening...
05/20/2026

Stockbridge Library and Berkshire Waldorf High School Present:

Film Nights with Your Host, Tom Fynan

Our first screening:

I Know Where I’m Going
Thursday, May 21 2026 6pm (at the Berkshire Waldorf High School)
A timeless romance from the legendary filmmaking team of Powell and Pressburger, “I Know Where I’m Going!” (1945) stars Wendy Hiller as a determined young woman bound for a marriage of convenience on a remote Scottish island — until a storm strands her on Mull, where a handsome naval officer (Roger Livesey) and the wild beauty of the Hebrides begin to change her heart. Atmospheric, witty, and quietly enchanting.

“The best movie you’ve never heard of.”
– Tom Fynan
Tom Fynan is a retired medical oncologist. He was raised in New Jersey, and spent most of his career in New Haven, CT. He was lucky enough to become a part-time resident of Stockbridge in 2007, and even luckier to move here full time in 2018. He became interested in film as a teenager, when he discovered the movies of Alfred Hitchcock.

A beautiful day to be outside reading under a shaded tree in the Stockbridge Library garden walkway 🌸
05/19/2026

A beautiful day to be outside reading under a shaded tree in the Stockbridge Library garden walkway 🌸

Vase-Worthy Gardening with Chris Ferrero – Cornell Master GardenerTuesday, May 19 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pmAt this talk we’ll ...
05/18/2026

Vase-Worthy Gardening with Chris Ferrero – Cornell Master Gardener

Tuesday, May 19 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

At this talk we’ll explore:

- Favorite plants of “flower farmers” who make the most beautiful bouquets
- The roles Perennials, Annuals and Woodies play in the cutting garden
- Choices between separate beds or incorporating into existing gardens…and even using containers!
- The importance of bloom sequence –especially early and late bloomers
- Notes for cutting, arranging and preserving too!

Last week’s visit with at the Stockbridge Library for a craft and to check out some books! Students each designed and m...
05/16/2026

Last week’s visit with at the Stockbridge Library for a craft and to check out some books! Students each designed and made their own 3D paper plant 🪴

Join us tomorrow Saturday, May 16 at 3pm for a conversation between author Larry Rohter and Jim Brooke on the book Into ...
05/15/2026

Join us tomorrow Saturday, May 16 at 3pm for a conversation between author Larry Rohter and Jim Brooke on the book Into the Amazon: The Life of Cândido Rondon, Trailblazing Explorer, Scientist, Statesman, and Conservationist. Rohter’s book Into the Amazon is a biography of Cândido Rondon, an Indigenous Brazilian explorer, scientist, stateseman, and conservationist who guided Theodore Roosevelt on his journey down the “River of Doubt.”

Join us Saturday, May 16 at 3pm for a conversation between author Larry Rohter and Jim Brooke on the book Into the Amazo...
05/12/2026

Join us Saturday, May 16 at 3pm for a conversation between author Larry Rohter and Jim Brooke on the book Into the Amazon: The Life of Cândido Rondon, Trailblazing Explorer, Scientist, Statesman, and Conservationist. Rohter’s book Into the Amazon is a biography of Cândido Rondon, an Indigenous Brazilian explorer, scientist, stateseman, and conservationist who guided Theodore Roosevelt on his journey down the “River of Doubt.”

Tonight at 6pm at the Stockbridge Library!
05/05/2026

Tonight at 6pm at the Stockbridge Library!

05/05/2026

Address

46 Main Street
Stockbridge, MA
01262

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 2pm

Telephone

+14132985501

Website

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