Derby Public Library

Derby Public Library is located in a building of white Ansonia granite at the intersection of Caroline and Elizabeth Streets. It was built in 1902 with funds provided by Colonel and Mrs. H. Holton Wood to honor their son Harcourt Wood, who had died in Derby in 1897. The library began with a free reading room in 1868, but not until 1896-99 did a push to built a library gather strength. the land was given by the Sarah Riggs Humphreys Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, with the stipulation that there would always be a room for its needs. The chapter also donated $5,000 for books provided townspeople raised an equal amount. In 1998, construction began on an addition doubling the size of the library and restoring the historic original library. The Derby Public Library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The library has just undergone a major remodeling and expansion. Click here to learn more.

At the stop sign, take a hairpin right. At the intersection, bear right onto Caroline Street.

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8 Derby Public Library
Photo by MarkAnthony Izzo

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