In 1891, Captain Elihu Spicer of Mystic and Brooklyn, N.Y. announced that he planned to build a library on the corner of West Main and Elm Streets for the communities of Mystic and Noank. The building would be two stories with a library, complete with a book collection on the second floor, and a large public meeting room on the first floor.
By the 1980's, major repairs were necessary and overcrowding was evident. To celebrate the upcoming Centennial year, the Trustees presented a plan calling for an addition to the building, as well as major restoration of the original building. A fund raising campaign was launched in 1987 with overwhelming community support. In December 1991, a 6,000 square foot addition was dedicated and in May 1992, the restoration was completed. The architect, Charles King of King & Tuthill of Avon, Connecticut, very successfully combined the old and the new. There was a formal opening of the building on May 17, 1992 with a ribbon cutting and a community celebration. The shears used to cut the ribbon are preserved in a case on the second floor.
The library is proud of it's growth and development. It now offers a bright, contemporary Children's Room with it's own Activity Room for the story hours, on the first floor. The first floor also houses a Meeting Room, the adult audio-visual materials, the newer books, and the first part of the Fiction collection. On the second floor, the remainder of the adult collection, and the staff offices share both the new and old spaces under the oak Cathedral ceiling that has remained intact through the years.
It is still a special place for the communities of Mystic and Noank, as well as the neighboring areas, just as Captain Spicer had envisioned over a hundred years ago.
