Library History

The library was founded in 1921 by the Century Club of Pottstown. The library has been at the location of 500 E. High Street (corner of High and Washington streets) since 1962. The building was once the local post office, and is over one hundred (100) years old.

100th Anniversary Facts

2021 is the 100th anniversary of the Pottstown Regional Public Library as it is today. This year we are looking back on the history of libraries in Pottstown, and the founding of Pottstown Regional Public Library. Special thanks goes out to Frances Hylton, our board president, for researching and compiling these fun and interesting facts!

1810: Pottstown Library Company was charter by an Act of the PA legislature. As one of the earliest features of the community, the library pre-dated the Borough of Pottstown by five (5) years. It was a subscription library which means it was funded by private funds. This library used paid memberships. In 1850. The Pottstown Library Company was dissolved. (Information from: The Pottstown Historical Society Program, January 2017.)
1845: Another library organization was formed, which started to assume the Pottstown Library Company’s responsibilities. By 1860 this secondary organization had also dissolved. Materials from the Pottstown Library Company and this secondary organization became the property of the Pottstown School District. For a long time, the public schools of Pottstown School District provided the only ‘public’ library in Pottstown. (Information from: The Pottstown Historical Society Program, January 2017.)
1914: The Century Club, a women’s service organization, took on the enormous project of ensuring a public library for Pottstown. Books were collected and made available in rooms at the Kulp Building (located at the intersection of High & Hanover St.) (Information from: The Pottstown Historical Society Program, January 2017.)
1920: The Century Club, started a fundraising campaign for a new library. Sufficient money was raised to establish the new library in the Casselberry mansion at 415 High Street. The new library was opened on August 5th, 1922. (Information from: The Pottstown Historical Society Program, January 2017.)

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