History
Since its opening in 1889…
…and for the following 79 years the library, designed by Robert H. Slack and given to the town by John Haywood Southworth, served as the intellectual center of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The Richardsonian Romanesque building has remained essentially unaltered since its construction and has served as a public space for nearly 133 years.
It is included as one of the major contributing buildings in the National Register Padanaram Village Historic District. In 1987, the building itself was nominated to the State and National Register of Historic Buildings. By the 1960s, however, the library had outgrown its building.
The Town of Dartmouth constructed a new library on Dartmouth Street, which opened in 1969. Since then, the old Southworth Library has been used by a variety of civic organizations including Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust moved its offices to the Elm and Prospect Streets building.
Today, it is home to the Dartmouth Cultural Center and begins a whole new chapter in its history!
More history? Please click here.