History of Washington Free Public Library

First of all -- YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE MY LIBRARIES. And, I'm a big fan of Andrew Carnegie, who funded over 3000 libraries in America. But the Washington Free Public library has a unique history.

From their website:   In 1877, the Washington Public Library was established by a group of dedicated volunteers with a combination of private donations of money and books and a small public tax.

Many of the original books held by the Washington Public Library came from the private collection of Gen. Hiriam Scofield, a civil war general from who lived in Washington and held one of the largest private libraries in the nation. The Washington Library still owns most of these books, though they have begun to deteriorate somewhat.
 
In 1901 Jane A. Chilcote, widow of Dr. Alexander Chilcote, bequeathed her house at 120 E. Main to the City of Washington to use as a public library.

In her honor, the library was affectionately known as the Jane A. Chilcote Library for many years. The Chilcote house was extensively remodeled to serve as the library. During the late forties and early fifties the house had begun to seriously deteriorate. The foundation had begun to crumble and the walls and floors were infested with termites.

In 1952 the city undertook the construction of a new building on the site funded in large part by major donations by Fort Sherman and Ralph Smith. The Chilcote house was demolished and the main portion of the new E. Main building was constructed. The building built in 1952 was about 7,100 square feet.

For the next 40 years or so, the Washington Free Public Library served the community by remodeling the space, and putting on various additions to the building.

The Library purchased some abandoned buildings on the west side of the Town Square. And they started to raise money to build THIS...

And here's the part I love the most.....

On October 1, 2009 -- when the new building was complete -- the community came out in force and the citizens physically MOVED all the books and materials to the new building.

They used a few mini-vans and pick-up trucks -- but primarily, they pushed carts, carried totebags and WALKED the books and library materials  from the old location over to the new location on the town square.

YOU'VE GOTTA LOVE LIBRARIES!!