In 1801, the Social Library of Sunderland (Massachusetts) organization was formed. Those wishing to borrow books would pay a small fee, a practice that was abandoned in 1878. For the next 97 years the library was housed in a wide range of locations, from members’ homes to the general store. By 1896, the ever-expanding library had moved to the old town hall, but it became clear that a new, permanent building was needed. In 1898, John L. Graves, a former Sunderland resident, agreed to pay for a new library. Two years later it was built.

Note: The Allen Brothers of Amherst, Massachsuetts, designed the library. It is in the asymmetrical Tudor Revival style that was popular in Western Massachusetts at the turn of the century.