The Martin Memorial Building was given to the town by Ernest N. Martin (1874 - 1965) in memory of four generations of his family who lived in Hartland. The Martin Memorial Library opened there on July 8, 1961 during Hartland's bicentennial celebration and served as a library for forty years, after which the building became the home of The Hartland Historical Society. The site had earlier been Ernest Martin's Garage, which in 1948 housed the first station of the volunteer fire department.