Gorham Public Library was first established as a public library is 1895. Its original location was in the Twitchell block on Exchange Street in Gorham. In 1901 the library was moved into the opera house where it remained until the building, unfortunately, burned down. The library was then re-established on Exchange Street.
In 1919 the library was moved to the second floor of the town hall. It was moved to the first floor of the
same building in 1972 where it would remain for twenty-five years.
In 1992 the Gorham Development Corporation accepted the donation of the old Bishop house from the
King family. Built by Judge Evans in the 1902, the house needed to be moved to allow for new
construction of the royalty athletic club.
Instead of destroying the house the owners gave it to the Gorham Development Corporation with the stipulation that they move it and turn it into the new public library. They agreed and the building was put on wheels and moved down Main Street, across the common, and on to its permanent home on Railroad Street.
Once the building was in place the Gorham Development Corporation worked tirelessly to raise funds to
complete the construction of two wings on the library. Thanks to many generous donors and volunteers
the new construction was able to be completed and the doors officially opened in 1997.
In 2004 David Murphy, a longtime Gorham resident and civic leader in the community, left a portion of his assets to Gorham Public Library when he passed away. He specified the use of these funds for building improvements for the betterment of the library, with the interest being available to pay for general operations. Thanks to David Murphy’s generous bequeathal, the library was able to further improve the building with updated shelving, renovation of the children’s room, repair and replacement of the roof and front siding, insulation improvement, window replacement, automation and technology improvements, and much more. We are truly grateful for his generosity and the legacy he has left of a flourishing Public Library for our community.