Stringer: Corsicana Public Library

By Dr. Tommy Stringer

June 21, 2009 06:29 pm

— There are certain institutions which indicate a community is “coming of age” — reaching a degree of maturity and permanence. When communities establish churches, build schools, and create civic clubs and organizations, they are saying they are here to stay and committed to providing a high quality of life for its citizens. Another institution which indicates a town is reaching a level of stability is a public library. The first public library in Corsicana opened in 1901 when Mrs. Rufus Hardy and Mrs. Maud Gordon, working through the local ladies clubs, collected $1,700 and 1,200 books to begin the operation. It was located in the Hardy-Peck Building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Beaton Street in downtown Corsicana.
Patrons paid a $1 annual user fee, which was the library’s only source of revenue. One unfortunate item in the library charter restricted use to white patrons only. In 1904, the Corsicana City Commission passed an ordinance to establish a tax-supported library, and they named Mayor E.A. Johnston to chair the newly created library board. In October 1905, they city was awarded a $25,000 grant from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie to construct a permanent building to house the library. As a youngster with no formal education, Carnegie had been allowed access to the private library of a family in Pittsburg, Pa. Drawing from that personal experience, Carnegie determined to provide similar opportunities for others by funding public libraries. From 1883 to 1929, Carnegie provided more than $50 million to communities all over the world to construct 2,500 libraries. Carnegie libraries were among the first to have open stacks where patrons could browse and select the books they wanted. Before, patrons would ask the librarian to go “back in the stacks” and bring the books to be checked out. Recipient cities were required to appropriate local funds for operation,which in Corsicana’s case, was $2,000 per year.
A committee of E.O. Call, S.A. Pace, C.H. Allyn, and J. H. Woods were appointed to select a site for the new structure, and they chose a lot on the corner of 12th Street and West Collin. The new facility opened January 1, 1906. It was a 2-story building with the book collection on the main floor, while on the second floor was a large auditorium which served as a community meeting room. A mural depicting the stately structure is on the wall of a building adjacent to the current library building.
After having served the community for more than half a century, the Carnegie library building had deteriorated by the 1960s. Local officials determined it should be demolished and replaced with a new structure on the same location. The new library was completed in 1966. The Corsicana Public Library has been an important fixture in the educational and cultural development of the community for over a century.
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Dr. Tommy Stringer is executive director of the Navarro College Foundation. He may be reached by e-mail at tommy.stringer@navarrocollege.edu. Want to “Soundoff” on this column? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

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