The Hughes Memorial Library is descended from the Social Library Society in the Town of Cornwall, established November 5, 1806. At first it was located in homes, the chapel in West Cornwall and then the West Cornwall Fire House. In 1940 the library moved to the West Cornwall School on Lower River Road, just south of what is now the Wandering Moose.

The library's present name honors the parents of Frederick G. Hughes, the major contributor to the purchase of its building. The collection currently includes about 15,000 titles comprising the latest fiction and non-fiction as well as a large selection of local and regional authors and subjects. There is a large collection of children's books.

Hughes Memorial Library is a privately funded, user-supported library wholly supported from invested endowments, voluntary gifts and contributions and is staffed by volunteers.