Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library

The first library for public use in Sherrill was a cupboard of books in the Oneida Community Limited Trap factory set up by Steven R. Leonard.  An additional cupboard was set up in the OCL Silk Factory by Harriet E. Joslyn in 1900 for use by employees.  When Joslyn died in 1915, she left a considerable donation of OCL stock for the purpose of developing a public library incorporated under the laws of New York State.  This donation kickstarted the Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library, which has operated in the city of Sherrill for over 100 years.

Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library spent its half century in a building on East Noyes Blvd.  The need for more space for the growing collection and population prompted the decision to build a new library on Sherrill Road.  When the Sherrill Road building was preparing to open to the public in 1970, there was the question of how to move the collection.  The two buildings were near enough to each other that when the time came, community members formed a "book brigade", standing in a line and passing the books from one another between the two buildings.  Our Sherrill Road building has been our library's home since 1970.  The library has since seen extensive renovations and building improvements in 1997 and 2022.

Today, Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library is a proud member of the Mid York Library System, and primarily serves the communities of the Towns of Vernon and Verona, the City of Sherrill, the hamlet of Kenwood, and outlying areas in Madison and Oneida counties.