In partnership with the Maine Memory Network Maine Memory Network

Welcome to Patten Free Library

The Patten Free Library in Bath contains the Sagadahoc History Room, which holds the collections of the Bath Historical Society as well as numerous other historical and genealogical resources.

The Patten brothers, George and John, were generous subscribers to the Patten Library Association, which was founded in 1847. The subscription library kept its collection in rented rooms and later a donated house until Galen C. Moses gave $10,000 for the construction of a new library building, with the stipulation that its use be free to all Bath citizens.

Construction began in 1889 on the new library, designed by George Harding, and was completed in 1890, at a total cost of $15,000. An Open House was held January 1, 1891, for all to attend. The library was expanded in 1961 and again in 1998.

Selected Patten Free Library images: