The Library's History
The beginning of the Maclure Library goes back to 1796 when the first Pittsford Librarian's Association was formed. This makes our community library one of, if not, the oldest library organizations in the United States.
Our library is named after William Maclure who gave four hundred dollars to help form the Maclure Library Association in 1839. The community library had many homes until 1895 when Dr. Henry Walker built our current building at a cost of twenty thousand dollars and donated the building in honor of his brother, Stephen Walker.
Romanesque in design, the exterior is rust coloured Roman brick, topped by a red slate hipped roof. All of the walls within the building are solid brick. The Syrian arched entry way is brownstone trimmed, cross-gabled and was originally an open design. The double-wooden doors and stained-glass fanlight were added at a later date to match the original design and provide an interior vestibule. The interior features stained glass transom windows, a wood-beamed vaulted ceiling, hardwood floors, and gracious woodwork throughout.
The building has three separate floors which are all connected by a staircase with the first floor and basement being connected by an elevator. In 2000, the basement was redesigned and refitted as a children's section as well as a reference room which contains three computers and a photocopier. On the first floor is the Young Adult's section, the Vermont Room, and the fiction and nonfiction sections.
Some of the original books from the library are still displayed on the third floor. In 1934 the Federal Archives Project realized that our library owned over one hundred rare editions of books and papers that the National Archives did not have. These editions, which varied in topic from records of Union and Confederate Navies in the Civil War to Presidential correspondents from 1789-1987, have been donated to the National Archives by the Maclure Library.