Pascoag Free Public Library

The Pascoag Public Library , in partnership with Advantage Archives , provides free and open online access to historical materials connected to Pascoag, Burrillville, and northern Rhode Island. The Community History Archive gives residents, genealogists, students, educators, and researchers an opportunity to explore local primary sources and discover the people, businesses, schools, organizations, industries, and events that shaped the community. Exact archive page totals, overall date coverage, and individual digital collection holdings have been omitted because they could not be independently verified from the archive interface. Historical newspapers are an important part of Pascoag Public Library's local research resources. The library maintains historical issues of the Burrillville Gazette, the Herald and Burrillville News Gazette, the Pascoag Herald, and the Woonsocket Call. These publications provide firsthand accounts of community life and can help researchers trace families, businesses, schools, civic affairs, local organizations, industrial activity, and everyday events in Pascoag and the surrounding region.

The Pascoag Public Library was founded in 1871 as Burrillville's first library. A group of local citizens, primarily women, organized what became the Ladies' Pascoag Library Association to give residents greater access to books and reading. After fundraising to establish a circulating collection, the library's books were initially housed in the millinery store of Rosemond Steere, who also served as librarian. Over the following decades, the library moved among several businesses and other locations in the village. Rosemond Steere continued to support the library even after leaving Pascoag. Following her death, she left the association $500 with the requirement that it be used toward a library building within ten years. Fundraising and community donations added to the building fund. Board member Leah Lace and her husband, Dr. John Lace, donated land on Church Street, and the association borrowed an additional $1,000 to complete the project. The new Pascoag Public Library opened in 1924 at 57 Church Street, where the library remains today. The 1924 brick building was designed by the Providence architectural firm Jackson, Robertson and Adams. The library continued to develop at the site, and grants received in 2011 supported an addition that doubled the size of the building. In 2021, Pascoag Public Library marked its 150th anniversary with a series of programs and activities celebrating its history and its longstanding connection to the community.

Horror writer H. P. Lovecraft placed part of his 1925 story The Horror at Red Hook in Pascoag. The unusual literary connection is recognized in Pascoag Public Library's own historical materials, adding another chapter to the village's place in Rhode Island history.