In the late 1800's the Limington library was a small building approximately a quarter of the size of our current library. People using the library during these early years paid ten cents per month or one dollar per year. All books were donated. In 1901, the library was made free to everyone.
In 1912, Walter Davis gave the current building, a one room brick Colonial Revival structure designed by John Calvin Stevens, to the town to be used as the Davis Memorial Library in memory of his father William G. Davis.
William G. Davis grew up poor on a family farm in Limington. At the age of 14, young William walked 30 miles to Portland, Maine to "make his fortune". He went barefoot because shoes were too expensive and precious to wear out unnecessarily.
He spent the next couple of decades working in a flour mill, a bakery, and as a peddler.
By the time he was 33 he had built a successful business selling canned meat to the union army during the Civil War, and exporting canned lobster to England. Young William had indeed made his fortune. He even had a fine home in Portland that was, unfortunately, burned in the Great Fire of 1866.
Throughout his life he never forgot about his hometown, and he and his family remained interested in Limington. To thank the town that raised his father, Walter G. Davis gave this library, so that it would be a bit easier for the people of Limington to improve their lives as William had done.
The Davis Memorial Library is listed on the National Historic Register, and retains it's original charm. Over the years the library has received some renovation - such as electricity, a furnace, and a bathroom!
In 1975 the "hide and seek" cannon known as "Old Boynton", was given to the town by the Emery family and mounted on the library lawn facing Limington's Veterans Memorial. The cannon was scarred in the famous naval battle off the coast of Maine, between the British ship, the Boxer, and the American ship, the Enterprise, during the War of 1812. In 1997, a stone bench was placed near the cannon in memory of late librarian, Althea Sawyer.
Librarians from 1887-1942
Sarah Small
Carrie Plaisted
Myra Whitney
Sadie Brackett
Florence Meserve
Edith Peters
Marita Sawyer
Librarians since 1942
Alice Wentworth 1942-1959
J P Cory 1961-1962
Louise Haley 1963-1969
Virginia Smith 1970-1983
Gemma Huntress 1983-1986
Tammy Pike 1987-1989
Althea Sawyer 1989-1996
Lea Sutton 1996-2005
Kay Deal 2005-2012
Mariah Machado 2012-2019
Heidi Libby 2019-
