The Schoharie Free Library was founded in 1916 by a group of women from the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It obtained its absolute charter from the State of New York in 1927 and became an Association Library in 1959. Also in that year, the Library joined the Mohawk Valley Library Association (MVLA).

In 1963, the weight of the books was damaging the DAR Hall and a fund drive to buy a new home for the Library was begun by the Schoharie Kiwanis Club, the Schoharie Rotary Club and others. Mr. James Cushing donated the money to buy the Meirs house and the Library was called the Mary Beatrice Cushing Memorial Library in honor of his deceased wife.

In 1989, Schoharie was hit by a rare tornado. In 1994, the Library was hit by a different kind of storm as our first computer was installed. Also that year, the Carriage House in the back yard was destroyed by a fire caused by an overheated light fixture, and in January of 1995 a Flood of the Century deposited five feet of water in the basement.