• Avon Public Library Hits Major Milepost as America Marks 250th

Bruce William Deckert

Editor-in-Chief

Today Magazine Online

The Avon Free Public Library is observing its 235th anniversary in 2026 — yes, in the same year the United States is celebrating its 250th birthday. Avon's celebrated repository is among a select group of 12 libraries in Connecticut established 200 or more years ago, based on Today Magazine's research.

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The Avon library traces its roots to 1791, when Rev. Rufus Hawley started collecting funds from local residents to buy books for a community library, according to the Avon Historical Society.

Avon is one of five towns that comprise Connecticut's Farmington Valley — the other four are Canton, Farmington, Granby and Simsbury. However, when Hawley initiated the library concept, present-day Avon was known as the parish of Northington, a distinct section of Farmington. Northington is likely a shortened version of North Farmington, according to Avon town historian Nora Howard.

Residents of Greater Hartford have varying perceptions regarding the towns that encompass the Farmington Valley region. Today Magazine Online defines the suburban-rural region as the five towns noted in the preceding paragraph. The Valley is west and northwest of Hartford, the capital city of the Constitution State.

Founded in 1645, Farmington is the Valley's oldest town, while its spin-off municipality Avon (founded in 1830) is the youngest.

Likewise, Farmington's library (established in 1785) is the oldest in the Valley. Therefore, of the dozen libraries in Connecticut established 200 or more years ago, two Valley libraries (Avon and Farmington) are in this rare category. The founding years for the other Valley libraries are as follows — Canton: 1838 • Granby: 1869 • Simsbury: 1874.

These books — and the book cabinet — were part of Avon's first library in the 1790s — courtesy photo

Hawley wrote in his journal about traveling to New Haven to purchase books for the Northington area library. Serendipitously, the first municipal public library in the American colonies originated in New Haven in 1656, according to CT.gov, Connecticut's official government website — 120 years before perhaps the most significant document in U.S. history was penned.

This historic document was signed and ratified on July 4, 1776 — and while the Declaration of Independence falls short of being book-length, it's safe to say that an online or print copy can be found in every public library nationwide here in the 21st century, 250 years later.

In September 1791, Hawley began signing up subscribers for the new local library, according to an Avon history source, and he acquired 111 books. At that time, Hawley served as the formal pastor of the Northington parish.

Notable literary works published in 1791 include:

• An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs – by Edmund Burke

• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – published posthumously

• Justine: or The Misfortunes of Virtue – by Marquis de Sade

• The Life of Samuel Johnson – by James Boswell

• The Rights of Man – by Thomas Paine

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Avon's first official librarian, Samuel Bishop, began his tenure in 1798. He kept the collection of 111 books in his home on Cider Brook Road — the street's namesake exists in Avon today — and gave residents access to the volumes six months of the calendar year. While this lending window is a far cry from the borrowing practice of public libraries today, such was the 18th-century reality in colonial Northington.

Readers could borrow books every other month, according to the Avon Historical Society and Avon library websites: in February, April, June, August, October and December.

Samuel Bishop held the title of librarian for more than four decades, until 1842, when Josiah Ansel Wilcox was elected to the office and thus became the second librarian in Northington and Avon history. The library's books were moved to his home, also on Cider Brook Road.

The library closed in 1852 and remained dormant for nearly 40 years, according to the historical society and library websites. The Wilcox family maintained possession of the library's 111 volumes.

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In 1890, a group of concerned women became convinced the community needed a vital book repository and resurrected the public library in a former harness shop on the north side of what is now Route 44, near the intersection of current-day Routes 10 and 202. When that building was repurposed, the books were relocated to a private residence on West Main Street (current-day Route 44) and then were moved again next door — to Phinenas Gabriel's shoe store, where the library was displayed prominently in the store's front room.

A board of directors was elected in 1909 to energize and reorganize the library. A fundraising campaign reaped $175, providing for the library's further development and for the town's first paid and trained librarian, Fred Neville.

His compensation was a dual consideration — he was remunerated for his librarian duties and for the rental of space in his Avon home to serve as the library. One of his key duties was classifying the collection.

In those days, the library was open only one day each week — on Fridays from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Each patron could borrow two books that had to be returned within two weeks. Records show that 62 families borrowed a total of 1767 books in Neville's first year as librarian.

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Satellite library sites were introduced in 1911 at Louise Lusk's home on Lovely Street and at the de-facto town hall in Huckleberry Hill School. Fifty books resided in each location and were rotated every two months.

Neville's home, on the site of the old Towpath School, was the last location to house the library's itinerant collection. Fundraising began in 1929 to acquire land for Avon's first official library building.

The board of directors purchased a site on the south side of current-day Route 44 (then Route 101) across the street from the former harness-shop building that housed the library in 1890. A one-room brick structure was then constructed at 17 West Main Street, the town's street name for current-day Route 44. On August 30, 1932 — about 141 years after Hawley pioneered Northington's nascent library — the brand-new Avon Free Public Library opened its doors. Over the next five decades, the library building was enlarged three times.

The "Free" designation distinguished the institution from subscription libraries that required members to pay fees. Such paid-subscription libraries were typical in the 1800s, according to various historians, and still existed in the United States in the 1930s.

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In 1950 the Friends of Avon Library group was formed. The mission is twofold and straightforward: support the library via volunteers, and enrich the library with funds to secure materials and sponsor programs beyond the regular operating budget.

In 1969 the Wilcox family — the descendants of 1800s librarian Josiah Ansel Wilcox — made a major donation. The family gave the library more than 90 books from the original 1791 collection of 111 volumes, plus the original book cabinet. The historic collection now resides in the library's Marian Hunter History Room.

The library board began long-range planning for a new building in 1971 and bought the site of today's library on Country Club Road in 1973. After a 1978 agreement with the town of Avon, the board donated the land to the town. The town commenced construction of a 13,500-square-foot facility and assumed responsibility for the bulk of the library's budget.

The new Avon Free Public Library building opened in 1982. The facility was expanded in 1997 and again in 2012, tripling the initial size to 40,000 square feet.

An interwoven trio of noble goals unite libraries worldwide: exciting a lifelong love of learning, inspiring a yearning for knowledge and igniting a pursuit of truth. Indeed, libraries in Connecticut's Farmington Valley and across the country share a passion for truth, education and erudition.

Here's to 235 more years of all the amazing contributions the Avon library confers to area residents. +

• 200-Year Libraries in Connecticut

• In chronological order, here is a list of 12 libraries in Connecticut established 200 or more years ago

• New Haven municipal public library — 1656

• Guilford Free Library — 1737

• Scoville Memorial Library: Salisbury — 1771

• Hartford Public Library — 1774

• Avon Free Public Library​ — 1791​

• West Haven Public Library — 1792

• Brainerd Memorial Library: Haddam — 1793

• The Farmington Libraries — 1785

• Ridgefield Library — 1795

• Mansfield Public Library — 1795

• New Milford Public Library — 1796

• The Institute Library: New Haven — 1826

The Avon Free Public Library is on Country Club Road — courtesy photo

• Editor's Note

• In researching this news story, Today Magazine has identified at least 12 libraries in Connecticut (listed above) that are 200 years old or older — yes, these historic libraries were established 200 or more years ago!

• Today Magazine has verified this info via library websites and other sources — the websites were visited the week of September 7, 2026, yet of course online content can be easily revised and updated — bottom line: this library-history info has been vetted through the above time frame.

• If you are aware of other libraries in the state that launched more than two centuries ago, leave a note in the Comments below. +

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• Editor's Note — An earlier story about the inception of the Avon library was published in the September 2021 edition of our monthly Today Magazine — that article was based on information from a source connected to the Avon Free Public Library — some of the information in this story is based on that source

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