Picture William Munroe, the pencil-maker's son, founding this library at 129 Main Street in Concord, Massachusetts. This public library was founded by Concord native William Munroe, son of the famed pencil-maker, who worked with other prominent members of Concord to form a board of trustees to provide the library’s financial backing. The building plans were commissioned from the Boston firm Snell & Gregerson.
The town purchased the land in 1869, construction began in 1872, and the library was dedicated on October 1, 1873. A surprising chapter arrived in March 1885, when this institution became the first to ban Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — a decision applauded in the Daily Advertiser (Boston), the Daily Republican (Springfield, MA), and the Freeman (Concord, MA), yet criticized or mocked by many; contemporaries and Twain himself would note that the ban only added to the novel’s publicity and helped its sales. The Concord Free Public Library also serves the wider town with the Fowler branch at 1322 Main Street in West Concord.
Notice the façade on Main Street, where the library's 1885 Huckleberry Finn ban drew applause and mockery.