#17: First Public Library: Peterborough, New Hampshire (1833)
In 1833, the New Hampshire town of Peterborough started the first free public library in the U.S. to be funded by tax revenue. It was a risky idea, but it proved to be a great success. It was so much of a success that, in 1849, New Hampshire’s state legislature passed a law authorizing other cities and towns in the state to use tax dollars to establish and maintain public libraries in their communities.
