The two century old Readfield Community Library has undergone many changes and has now completed its transformation from an 1800s family home to a functional two-story library.
The library is located at 1151 Main St., near the intersection of state routes 17 and 41 in Readfield Corner.
With 350 hours of volunteer work and funding from the town and federal pandemic relief, the unused second floor was renovated to accommodate a large community room that features a piano, a kitchen, a staff office and a meeting room. That private room can be used for meetings, studying or online job interviews.
Dr. Samuel and Patience Currier built the house, circa 1800. They and their descendants lived there until 1945. Alice Eaton, the Curriers’ great-granddaughter, donated the house in 1945 to The Little Town Club, which maintained it for 62 years as The Readfield Community House.
A one-room lending library was established in the house in 1946 by Amo Bishop and other volunteers, and was expanded to two rooms in 1959. In 2007, the town of Readfield accepted the Currier House from the disbanded Little Town Club.
In the mid-to-late-2010s, the town hired a contractor to make basement improvements to stabilize the building and protect it from water intrusion. It also had the west and north sides of the building painted and made other improvements. In 2019, the town decided to keep the library there and repair the building properly through funding from voters for building maintenance and library grants.
The new community room, located on the second floor of the Readfield Community Library, is seen Saturday during an open house in Readfield. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Then in 2020, the town voted for funding to renovate the second floor including an emergency exit door with exterior stairs and a ramp for the main entrance, which was completed in 2023.
This year renovations of the four second-floor rooms has completed the project for the two-story library. Exterior painting and driveway paving are planned for the summer.
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