Building & History

In the last years of the 18th century the Reverend Charles Stearns became “Lincoln’s first author of note” when he published several books of poetry and moralistic dramas. Stearns and some of his neighbors joined to form the private subscription “Social Library of the Town of Lincoln.” This small beginning led, in 1884, to Lincoln resident George Grosvenor Tarbell donating $27,000 for a handsome Victorian red brick library designed by noted Boston architect Wiilliam G. Preston as a public library for the use of all residents: The Lincoln Public Library. Generations of readers enjoyed the fireplaced reading rooms, the stained glass windows and ceiling light. Subsequent additions were built in the 1950’s by Hoover and Hill architects and at the library’s century mark in the late 1980’s by Graham Gund. In its centennial year, the library was a founding member of the Minuteman Library Network serving MetroWest Boston.