Established in 1892, the Foster Library serves Fort Atkinson and surrounding communities.

meeting on December 7, 1891, Mrs. W. H. Rogers, president of the society, acted as chairman and appointed a committee to petition the city council to ask the voters to appropriate $500 for a free public library.

On January 4, 1892, the City of Fort Atkinson voted to spend $500 for library purposes.

In March 1901, the library committee voted to request a donation from Andrew Carnegie, but no reply to their letter was received.

His private secretary responded, saying that Carnegie felt the current library facilities were adequate.

In 1912, Henry E. Southwell gave the city $10,000 for the purchase of a new library building, stipulating that it be named after Dwight Foster, his father-in-law and the founder of Fort Atkinson.

On January 27, 1929, there was an announcement at a special meeting of the library board that the daughter of Mr. Henry E. and Mrs. Celeste A.

Foster Southwell, Mrs. Mary Worcester, was donating $25,000 for a children's wing, with its own entrance to avoid disturbance to those doing research.

The project was completed in ten months while the library operated at a temporary location.

[8] In 2020 the library hosted a discussion of "Such Anxious Hours: Wisconsin Women’s Voices From the Civil War,"[9] as well as a travel series.