Acton's Memorial Library was built in 1890 with funds provided by William Allan Wilde.  William Wilde was born in Acton in 1827, taught school, and became a successful publisher.  He had lived away from Acton for many years when he decided to donate the library to the town both as a memorial to those who had served in the Civil War and as a place in which the people of Acton could find instructive and uplifting material to read.

Inside the arch at the front of the building are two plaques.  To the left is a listing of The Men of Acton Who Fought for the Union in the Civil War.  To the right is a list of Our Honored Dead, those who died in service during the war.

For further information, see:

• History of the Library on Acton Memorial Library website

• Acton Memorial Library & Soldiers Memorial Tablets on Acton Memorial Library's website, online Civil War Archives

• A History of the Acton Memorial Library 1890-1990, Board of Trustees of the Acton Memorial Library, 1990.

• Fletcher, James. Acton in History.  Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1890, pages 287-289.

• Phalen, Harold. History of the Town of Acton. Cambridge, MA: Middlesex Printing Inc., 1954, pages 244-247.