Cragin Memorial Library History

1820 to Present
Cragin Memorial Library Expansion in 2001
The Cragin Memorial Library was expanded to 20,000 sq. ft. in 2002.

Colchester was established in 1698 at an important colonial crossroads and served as one of Connecticut's earliest manufacturing towns. Private library associations serving the residents of the town began as early as the 1820s. Membership in the library associations cost $1.00 or $2.00 per year--equivalent to a basic cable TV subscription today. In the earliest days, members could pay for their membership with their produce, such as potatoes, corn, etc. Over the years, Library association collections were located in several buildings, and the collections were lost twice in building fires.

In 1903, Dr. Edwin B. Cragin donated $30,000* for the construction of a 4,000-square-foot building in memory of his father Edwin T. Cragin. The Colchester Library Association donated its collection and the Town agreed to support the operations of the Library, which was opened to the public in July 1905. The Library was governed from 1905 to 2002 by the Cragin Memorial Library Board of Trustees.

The Library's Board of Trustees, chaired by Mrs. Lynn Norton, and Library Director Siobhan Grogan spearheaded an expansion effort, leading to the renovation of the 1905 building and the addition of a 16,000-square-foot expansion, completed in September 2002. The Library became a town department in 2002.

Today the Library offers a collection of over 81,000 physical items including board games, puzzles, and DVDs and provides access to thousands of digital materials including ebooks, e-audiobooks, periodicals, and streaming videos. Library programs enrich the lives of people of all ages. The Library offers spaces for quiet work and for the community to come together to learn, relax, and collaborate.

List of Library Directors, 1905 to Present:

Matilda L. Avery                                              1905-1914

Mary A. Leal                                                    1914-1920

Mrs. Charles Beebe                                         1920-1946

Matilda L. Avery                                              1946-1954

Della F. Thompson                                           1954-1955

Alma O. Holmes                                              1956-1962

Marguerite Schale                                          1963-1984

Elsie Treggor                                                   1984-1993

Debra Carrier Perry & Siobhan M. Grogan     1993-1997

Siobhan M. Grogan                                         1997-2009

Kate Byroade                                                  2009-

*Worth about $3,000,000 in today's dollars.