The Hunterdon County Library began as a system of about 160 "library stations," which were small collections of books housed in various places including general stores, post-offices and private homes. These small collections constituted "the library" for the local residents, as there was no actual library building to go to.
Learn more about the library's history.

 

 

The North County Branch first opened in July 1979 in a trailer on a site in Clinton that was formerly the Daz O'Dell. Seven years later the library moved to a storefront in the Grey Rock Plaza and three years later the library opened in Annandale Square where it remained for ten years. In 1999, a new branch was built in Clinton Town, incorporating the former Grandin Library, an endowment library that had been a vital part of Clinton Town for 101 years. The Grandin Library is honored in the North County Branch Library with a small conference room containing materials and furniture from the original library and furnished by the Friends of the Hunterdon County Library.

 

 

The South County Branch Library opened in 1987 in the trailer that was the original North County Branch and had been moved to the parking lot of the East Amwell Municipal Building. In March of 2002, the library moved to a building at the junction of Routes 179 and 31 in Ringoes, tripling their space, enabling them to add many programs and full library services. During the summer of 2012, the library moved four miles down the road to an inviting new building in West Amwell, bringing the library services to the southern part of the county. In October 2018, the library moved four miles back up the road to the building at the junction of Routes 179 and 31 in Ringoes.

 

 

The Hunterdon County Library system has its roots in a library car that began delivering books in 1928. The Hunterdon County Library Bookmobile continues that tradition today, providing library service and books to the communities furthest away from a "bricks and mortar" library.