A Very Brief History of the Library

The Perrot Memorial Library is located in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, a Long Island Sound seaside community which comprises the eastern portion of the Town of Greenwich. The library, named for John Perrot, a British loyalist and Old Greenwich’s first private schoolmaster, was founded in 1904 by his descendants.

The library moved from place to place until 1930, when architect D. Everett Waid donated a piece of land on Sound Beach Avenue, as well as plans for a Jeffersonian-style building. The Children’s Wing was designed by architect Mark B. Thompson and construction was completed in 1998. The new addition was funded by a a major gift from the Radcliffe Family and donations from many members of our community. The interior of the Children’s Wing was built to resemble a village green.

Perrot Library is a private, 501(c)(3) institution, owned by the Perrot Library Association; we are affiliated (and share a catalog) with the larger Greenwich Public Library system. As of June 2021, Perrot Library has in its collection approximately 29,000 adult books and 29,000 children’s books, as well as over 2,200 music CDs, 1,300 audiobooks, 4,000 DVDs and Blu-Rays, and subscriptions to 110 periodicals. 

You can read a thorough written history of the library: Perrot: The Story of a Library, by local author Anne L. Macdonald.  Also available to borrow is an hour-long documentary entitled Perrot: The Story of a Small Town and its Dream for a Library. You may also view an online, children’s version of Perrot’s history.

 

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