Oriskany Public Library
621 Utica St.
Oriskany, NY 13424-4619
Congressional District 24
NYS Assembly District 116
NYS Senate District 47
About Us:
During the depression, in 1937, several prominent ladies of the village organized a public library. Its first home was an abandoned gas station. The first books of the library were donated by Holland Patent Free Library, the Niles family and the Waterbury Presbyterian Church. Other supplies such as a stove, a coal box, a sign, a ton of coal and stove pipe were all donated and many people worked to put up shelves and do other necessary work. In a contest, with Colmar, New Mexico, it was deemed the smallest library in the United States. In 1941 its contents were moved across the street and served its patrons from there until 1988 when a new library was constructed. The new library building was named the Helen B. Lawrence Memorial Library in honor of a very devoted, long time librarian.
