In the late 1800s, macadamized roads and reliable rail transportation brought vacationers and new homeowners to Allendale. The need for summertime activities, such as a library, became evident. The Village Improvement Association (VIA), a local civic group established in 1887, formed a library committee to create a new library. Allendale’s first library was established in December 1900, located within the public school on Franklin Turnpike. Staffed by volunteers, the new library offered 600 books. Open July through August, the library was independently funded with annual membership dues, borrowing fees, and private donations. Around 1910, the library had to move to new quarters as the school needed a new cloak room. It found a new home in John Ackerman’s store, located at Erie Plaza. A few years later, in 1915, the library moved across the plaza to the second floor of the firehouse. In 1919, the Braun Building, also known as the Flatiron Building, became the library’s new home. With the borough now incorporated and with its own government representation, the VIA and its library committee were disbanded.
With the need for a permanent home and dedicated community support, in August 1919, members of the former VIA library committee incorporated as the Allendale Library Association. Their focus was to perpetuate the library and to look for its permanent home. On January 11, 1923, the library committee signed an option to purchase the property owned by William H. and John A. Mallinson at the corner of Franklin Turnpike and West Allendale Avenue. In November 1923, the Allendale Library Association incorporated, and on December 28, 1923, a deed was signed transferring the property from John A. Mallinson; his wife, Mary C. Mallinson; William H. Mallinson; and his wife, Emma G. Mallinson, to the Allendale Library Association. With William Dewsnap as the architect, construction of the new library building began in April 1926. On December 18, 1926, the new Allendale Public Library was dedicated. In 1941, William C. and Mary K. Lee donated a new wing to the library building, which was completed in November.
Insufficient funding and growing demand required a need for the municipality to assume responsibility for the library. On November 4, 1952, with a referendum on the ballot, the citizens of Allendale voted 876 to 223 to have the borough take over all aspects of the library, including the building and property. On January 6, 1953, the new borough-operated library incorporated as the Trustees of the Free Public Library of the Borough of Allendale. It would now be a free public library. On December 8, 1952, in memory of William C. Lee, the library board voted unanimously to change name of library to the Lee Memorial Library.
On January 6, 1953, library trustees passed a resolution appointing Mary K. Lee honorary advisor to the board of trustees for life. In February 1953, Hilda Sprague became Allendale’s first paid librarian. On March 13, 1953, at an open house, Schuyler C. Lee unveiled bronze letters over an interior library doorway that read, “The Mary K. Lee Room.” In May 1971, library volunteers met in the home of Mrs. Samuel Raber to discuss how the library could also serve as a cultural center for the community. These volunteers worked alongside library staff to ease their workload. Before adjourning their meeting, they voted to organize and call themselves “Friends of the Library.”
With a growing interest in new books and with the Franklin Turnpike building needing repairs, the library moved to 500 West Crescent Avenue adjacent to borough hall. After completing required modifications, the new location of the Lee Memorial Library was dedicated on May 20, 1979.