Waterbury Libraries

The Silas Bronson Library was established in 1868 with a gift from Silas Bronson, an area merchant and philanthropist. The Bronson family name is one which appears frequently in the history of early Waterbury. Since its inception, the library's mission has been to promote education, to dispense general information and to make a positive contribution to the moral and cultural heritage of the people of Waterbury. The current location on Grand Street is land once home to the original Grand Street Cemetery or Old Burying Yard, the first known cemetery dating to the settlement of the town in the late 1670s.

Today, the library is a completely modern information and technology resource center — thanks in part to federal grants which enabled the transformation. The collections include more than 240,000 books, 60 computer workstations, federal, state, and local documents (originals and microfilm). The current 53,000 square foot building was erected in the 1960s, replacing the older structure which had served for more than six decades.

Located in front of the Silas Bronson Library on Grand Street in downtown Waterbury is the Benjamin Franklin statue, pictured above left. The statue was sculpted by Paul Wayland Bartlett, circa 1916. More detail to follow about this and other Waterbury monuments in the future.

If you would like more information about the Silas Bronson Library (sometimes called the Bronson Library or Waterbury Public Library), visit their official web site at: http://www.bronsonlibrary.org