07/30/2026
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Plumb Library. The following has been copied from the library page. For anyone who frequented the town library when it was in the Town Hall building, knew it was time for a new library. Plumb Library is a great asset to the town.
“Almost exactly 100 years before the residents of Rochester would vote to accept the Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library as a gift from Dorothy Plumb, residents voted to accept $2,000 worth of books, fixtures, and a permanent endowment from Mrs. (Elizabeth) Charles H. Leonard on April 3, 1876. The Rochester Free Public Library opened in the north recitation room of the Rochester Academy building on August 19, 1876, with 800 volumes available to the public. In 1892, Mrs. Leonard donated half the funds necessary to build the current Rochester Town Hall, with the stipulation that the building include space for the library. The library would remain in Town Hall until Plumb Library was opened in 1976.”
