Robert Beverly Hale Library

About Us:

This library which serves the Matunuck and Perryville area in South Kingstown was dedicated to the memory of Robert Beverly Hale. Hale, who died at an early age, was the son of Edward Everett Hale, a Unitarian minister, writer, and author of The Man Without a Country. 

The building is a one-story clapboard shingled structure, with a stone-and-brick chimney and granite foundation. There is a central entry with a semi-elliptical fanlight and sidelights. The main reading room has a fireplace and a handsome bay window with a view of the surrounding woods. In 1930, the Perkins Memorial Wing was added on the west which provided a children's room that is still in use today. The Caroline P. Atkinson Memorial Wing was added in 1952 on the east. 

The library underwent an extensive renovation in 1991 which included a small two-story addition at the rear of the building for a staff office/workroom and storage space in the basement.