Read about the plans for the new Crozet Library

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Programs for Adults:

Monday Evening Book Club

Meets monthly (Sept - July) on the 1st Monday of each month 7:00 to 8:30 pm. Please drop in and join us!

Want to see what we've already read? Try Searching the calendar.

Monday Evening Book Club

MAYFLOWER: A STORY OF COURAGE, COMMUNITY AND WAR by Nathaniel Philbrick

September 08, 2008
7:00 pm

National Book Award winner Philbrick…now gives us a story of both heartbreaking misery and driving determination as he relates the Pilgrims' historic journey from Europe and their hardscrabble work to establish the Plymouth Colony... a jaw-dropping epic of heroes and villains, bravery and bigotry, folly and forgiveness. -Library Journal
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Monday Evening Book Club

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S by Truman Capote.

October 06, 2008
7:00 pm

A valentine of love, fashioned by way of reminiscences to one Holly Golightly. Capote makes unique reading. - The New York Times Book Review
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Monday Evening Book Club

ALL THE KINGS MEN by Robert Penn Warren

November 03, 2008
7:00 pm

This landmark book is a loosely fictionalized account of Governor Huey Long of Louisiana, one of the nation's most astounding politicians. The award-winning book (Pulitzer Prize, 1947) is a play of politics, society and personal affairs, all wrapped in the cloak of history.
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Future Readings:

Dec 1: SUITE FRANCAISE by Irene Nemirovsky
Jan 5: LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER by Stewart O’Nan

Crozet Library 20th Birthday Celebration
“Twenty Years in the Depot”

A Branch Library

Original Crozet Library

The possibility of a branch library for Crozet was first discussed publicly at the November 1963 meeting of the Crozet Lion’s Club; Raymond Williams, then director of the McIntire Library spoke on the subject. Williams noted in his talk that the area had been served for the previous ten years by the bookmobile.

By December of the same year McIntire Library included funds in their budget for the Crozet Branch. Until the budget was approved by the county and put into effect in July, it was suggested that the community raise funds and open the library as soon as possible.

On January 3, 1964, the Crozet Library committee was established with Roy Patterson as chairman. The purpose of the group was to establish a library until financial support could be secured through the county during the new fiscal year beginning July 1. The library opened its doors on May 6, 1964 in a small building across the street from its current location.

Looking for a Home

When, after several years, the Olive Tree building proved too small to house the growing collection, the books were moved into what is now Crozet Hardware. This site, too, had to be abandoned, however, in order to accomodate the current business when the development of Windham forced it out of its old quarters.

As a temporary measure, the library was housed in a portion of the building that now contains the Green Olive Tree, though quarters were so cramped that almost a third of the collection had to be stored off-site. The library was open 22 hours a week.

Mary Plum, previous Branch Manager, recalls,“There were boxes, carts and stacks of books everywhere that couldn’t fit on the shelves. Someone would come in looking for a particular cook book and I would say, ‘’Check that pile.’”

The Crozet Library League was organized, and worked to raise funds and bring the community’s attention to this situation.

A New Old Building

Old Railroad Depot

In 1984, the Perry Foundation purchased and restored the railroad depot, abandoned for years, as a home for the library. The new facility was opened in May of that year with festivities that included the Court Square Dancers and the Crossroads String Band. The building itself had a long history.

The railroad line serving Crozet was opened in the 1850s. Originally known as the Virginia Central Railroad, this line pushed from Gordonsville west into the Shenadoah Valley through a tunnel engineered by Claudius Crozet, the French engineer for whom the town is named. In 1858, the first train rolled through the tunnel into the valley.

The first wooden frame depot was built to serve nearby Miller School, and Crozet grew up around it, encouraged by the region’s flourishing fruit industry. Plans were drawn for a new brick depot as early as 1916, but World War I delayed the start of construction. The building now occupied by the library was built in 1923 at a cost of $16,000.

The Library Today

New Children's Furniture

When the automated catalog and record-keeping system was installed in 1987, circulation doubled. The growth of the community and library business continued apace. Presently, the Crozet branch has a staff of four: two full-time and two part-time employees, circulates about 10,000 items each month, and is open for 48 hours each week.