The Hampden Branch was erected in 1899 and first opened to the public on 2 July 1900 as the seventh branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The benefactor of the branch was Robert Poole, 1818-1903, a resident of Hampden and a generous philanthropist who provided the funds for the construction of the branch as well as for the initial book collection. Mr. Poole was the owner of the Poole and Hunt foundry and iron works in Hampden. The architect was Joseph Evans Sperry, and the architectural style is Greek revival. The four cast iron columns on the front porch were produced at the Poole and Hunt foundry, which in 1858 had also provided the columns supporting the US Capitol dome in Washington, DC.
