Henry Stephens (1823-1886), a native of Dublin, Ireland, was a merchant, lumberman, and financier. One of Almont's earliest settlers, he established the first mercantile business there. In 1845 he built a sawmill north of Lapeer. When the pine forests in the area were depleted, he moved to Richfield Township in Roscommon County, built a mill, and founded the village of St. Helen. Stephens also had a summer home in Romeo. In 1916 his youngest son, Albert Stephens, offered to fund construction of a library in honor of his father. The following year, local contractor Al Thayer erected the Georgian Revival building. An addition was erected in 1987. The library is part of the West St. Clair Street National Register Historic District.