A staple within the town of Powassan, the Powassan and District Union Public Library is a magnificent place which houses not only books but a plethora of various activities for people to participate in.  

 

Although it was founded formally in 1913 as The Powassan Library, it was suspected that a library was active as early as 1900 out of someone's private residence. A 1912 meeting of the Women's Institute in Powassan brought forth the idea of bringing back a new library after the old one had burned down. Thus, suggesting that one had existed beforehand. 

 

The library opened with 150 volumes and after three years of operation, had accumulated the patronage of 345 people. 

 

In 1919, the library moved to the Post Office building and in 1921, 948 volumes were part of the library catalog.

 

The services moved in 1927 and again in 1936 to a small space in the back of the Windsor Hotel. In the 1930s, there was a movement going to raise money for an entirely detached library building and in 1939, one was constructed on the North-East corner of King and Edward Street.

 

The library starting in 1939 was open on Wednesday and Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and 7:00 to 9:00 PM.

 

Twenty-four years later, in 1963, the library outgrew its small building and moved in with the newly constructed municipal offices - on the exact same lot.

 

In 1971, it became the Powassan and District Union Public Library as it now collected the literary assets of surrounding communities. such as Trout Creek, Chisholm, and South Himsworth. 

 

The current library building was constructed in 1982 with over 2000 square feet of stacks, two meeting rooms, and a kitchen facility. To this day the library offers many different services and activities which can be found here on our website.