HISTORY OF KEWANEE PUBLIC LIBRARY.

By Horace Phillips, Secretary of the Library Board.

The Kewanee (township) Public Library, located in Kewanee, Henry county, Illinois, was organized, under the general library law of the state, on April 7, 1875. Preceding the enacting of this law there had been various preliminary meetings of the citizens of Kewanee, commencing on January 18, 1875, at which was formed the "Library Association."

The names of the citizens interested in forming this library and reading-room association, so far as shown by the records in possession of the library board, are: B. A. Gurney, chairman of the first meeting; Charles K. Ladd, secretary; W. T. Cross; W. H. Russell; Rufus P. Parrish; Andrew F. Bigelow; H. T. Lay; James K. Blish and Adolph Maul. There were five other persons whose names were not given in the records, making the number fourteen who signed the constitution, which had been adopted, and paid their fees.

The Library Association elected as board of directors, W. T. Cross, William H. Russell, James K. Blish, R. P. Parrish, Adolph Maul and Charles K. Ladd. These directors met on January 27, 1875, and elected the first permanent officers as follows: president,

W. H. Russell; vice president, W. T. Cross; secretary, J. K. Blish; treasurer, R. P. Parrish. To this organization books and money were donated, and thus was formed the nucleus of what afterward, in the same year, under the recently enacted law, became the Kewanee Public Library.

The finance committee, Messrs. R. P. Parrish, A. F. Bigelow and H. T. Lay, reported "sixty-five dollars subscribed and more promised." By January 26, 1875, there were two hundred and sixty-two volumes ready to be placed in the library. The library and reading room were to be open from six thirty until nine thirty p. m., from October I to April 1; and from seven to ten p. m. the remainder of the year, except on Sundays, when the reading room was to be open from one to seven p. m. The person first to serve as librarian was John G. Blish, at five dollars a week.

The first board of directors of the Kewanee Township Public Library, elected under the then recent law, who were the same men as formed the board of directors of the Library Association, met at the office of Charles K. Ladd on April ii, 1875, and elected the following officers. Officers for first year: president, W. H. Russell; vice president, W. T. Cross; secretary, James K. Blish.

Directors and their terms of office

1875 to 1909: W. H. Russell

1875 to 1881; W. T. Cross

1875 to 1890; J. K. Blish

1875 to 1886; R. P. Parrish

1875 to 1903; Adolph Maul

1875 to 1887, 1897 to 1909;C. K. Ladd

1875 to 1885, 1888 to 1891; E. C. Rosseter

1881 to 1894; C. C. Wilson

1885 to 1888; E. J. Brennan

1886 to 1889; P. B. Keeler

1887 to 1897; Charles R. Lory

1889 to 1909; Robert Moore

1890 to 1900; J. B. Russell

1891 to 1894; Rev. Josiah Moore

1891 to 1893; Rev. S. G. Youngert

1893 to 1896; Horace Phillips

1895 to 1911; Henry Ecklund

1897 to 1910; H. W. Trask

1900 to 1903; Leo H. Lowe

1903 to 1906; H. H. Lay

1904 to 1910; Harry C. Dana

1906 to 1909; Samuel D. Burge

1909 to 1912; Nicholas T. Demerath

 

Presidents and their terms of office, 1875 to 1909: W. H. Russell, 1875 to 1876; R. P. Parrish, 1876 to 1903; Adolph Maul, 1903 to 1909. Vice presidents and their terms of office, 1875 to 1909: W. T. Cross, 1875 to 1876, 1888 to 1889; Adolph Maul, 1876 to 1879, 1885 to 1886, 1898 to 1900; W. H. Russell, 1879 to 1880; Charles K. Ladd, 1880 to 1883, 1889 to 1891; J. K. Blish, 1883 to 1885; C. C. Wilson, 1886 to 1888; P. B. Keeler, 1891 to 1893, 1895 to 1897; J. B. Russell, 1893 to 1894; S. G. Youngert, 1894 to 1895; Robert Moore, 1897 to 1898; Horace Phillips, 1900 to 1907; Charles R. Lory, 1907 to 1909; Henry Ecklund, 1909 to 1910.

Secretaries and their terms of office, 1875 to 1909: James K. Blish, 1875 to 1876; W. T. Cross, 1876 to 1882; E. C. Rosseter, 1882 to 1894; C. R. Lory, 1894 to 1907; Horace Phillips, 1907 to 1910.

Librarians and their terms of office, 1875 to 1909: John G. Blish, 1875, January 27 to June 19; J. C. Rice, June 19, 1875 to 1876; Thomas O'Sullivan, 1876 to 1877; Miss Amelia Bassett, 1877 to 1886; Miss S. E. Gray, 1886 to 1907; Miss H. T. Kennedy, 1907 to 1908; Miss Alice C. Mann, 1908 to 1910.

Board of directors, 1909: president, Adolph Maul; vice president, Henry Ecklund; secretary, Horace Phillips; H. H. Law; Samuel D. Burge; Nicholas T. Demerath. Librarians, 1909: librarian, Miss Alice C
Mann; assistant librarian, Mrs. Kate D. Lawson; assistant librarian, Miss Ellen
K. Kellogg.

 

The first home of the library was in the northwest corner room, first floor of the Library Hall, now called the City Hall, where it remained from 1875 to 1880. On January 10, 1880, the library was moved to the second floor of the Odd Fellows building, situated on the northwest corner of Tremont and Second streets, which place, until 1900, very well met the wants of the library.

The first catalogue, arranged by author, titles and subjects, containing twenty- four pages, was published in 1875, by the Independent Book and Job Company, of Kewanee, Illinois. Supplements were issued from time to time to contain the new books purchased or donated. A much larger catalogue was published later and several supplemental catalogues have been added. The necessity of arranging the books according to a new and better system had been fully realized by the board for many years, but action to this end had been deferred until a permanent arrangement could be made on shelves in a building of our own.

On February 28, 1901, Mr. Alexander McLean, of Kewanee, Illinois, wrote to Mr. Andrew Carnegie of New York, who had been making large donations to various cities in this and other countries, for the erection of public libraries, asking him what amount of money he would give to the city of Kewanee.

The following is a copy of Mr. Carnegie's reply: "Alexander McLean, Esq.,

President Board of Education,

Kewanee, Ill. Dear Sir:—

Yours of the 28th received. If the city of Kewanee will furnish a suitable site and pledge itself to maintain a Public Library at cost of not less than two thousand, and five hundred dollars per year, Mr. Carnegie will give twenty thousand dollars for a Free Public Library Building.

Very truly yours,

James Bertram,

Private Secretary. March 14, 1901.

Almost at once after the receipt of this letter, a public meeting of the citi­ zens of Kewanee was held in the Kewanee opera house. The offer of Mr. Car­negie was presented to the meeting and, on motion, a committee to whom the matter was referred was instructed to inform Mr. Carnegie that the citizens of Kewanee accept his generous gift and extend to him a vote of thanks, and to say that they will proceed at once to comply with the conditions of his offer.

Committees also, at this time, were appointed to secure funds for the pur­ chasing of a suitable site for the library building. For the following three years there were so many interests in the nature of public buildings demanding attention and money that the committees were unable to secure the funds neces­ sary to the purchase of a site. Late in 1904, at a public meeting of citizens in the city hall, it was voted to refer to the board of directors of the Kewanee Public Library, the matter of raising funds with which to buy a site. The board accepted the responsibility, and at once, but with no success, investigated the usual means at hand of securing funds.

As a last resort the library board of 1904—president, Adolph Maul; vice president, Horace Phillips; secretary, Charles R. Lory; Leo H. Lowe; Henry Ecklund and H. H. Lay—on December 13, 1904, by vote agreed to request James K. Blish, one of the first directors and a lifelong friend of the library, to draft a bill for an act to enable boards of directors of public libraries to borrow money for the erection and improvement of library buildings or to pur­ chase library sites. This bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, Springfield, Illinois, on February 9, 1905, by our representative, N. W. Tibbetts.

In order to bring this bill to the favorable notice of the representatives in the state legislature, the librarian, through a committe of which Henry Ecklund was chairman, after finding the counties, outside of Cook county, in which there were towns of four thousand or more people; wrote about forty-five letters to their respective county treasurers as follows:

Kewanee, Illinois, December 19, 1904.

Treasurer .......................... County,

....................................... , Illinois.

Dear Sir:—

Will you kindly give us information as to whether there are Township,Village or City Libraries established in your county, and if any, give their address or location.

Thanking you in advance for an early answer, I remain,

Respectfully,

Miss S. E. Gray, Librarian, Kewanee Public Library."

On receiving replies as to the location of the libraries, the following letter was sent to the respective boards of eighty-five libraries: "President Board of Directors,

.......................... Public Library,

............................. , Illinois.

Dear Sir:—

A bill will be introduced during the present general assembly session, which, if passed, will authorize boards of directors of public libraries in the state to call special elections at which the people may vote upon propositions to issue bonds and levy taxes for the erection of public library buildings and the purchase of sites for the same.

May we ask you to assist in securing the passage of this needed measure by urging the state senator and representatives from your district to vote for the bill when it comes up for consideration.

You will no doubt appreciate the importance of such a measure to the many, public libraries throughout the state which will be benefited by a law that will give the boards of directors the same rights now granted school boards and municipal bodies. We trust therefore that you will find it possible to cooperate with us in the effort to secure the required support for the bill at this session of the legislature.

Yours truly,

Miss S. E. Gray, Librarian,

Kewanee Public Library."

Then the following letter with a copy of the bill was sent to the several boards:

President Board of Directors,

......................... , Illinois.

Gentlemen:—

Enclosed you will find copy of a bill now pending before the legislature, in reference to which we addressed you a few weeks ago.

This bill has been prepared by one of the ablest attorneys in the state, who was a former member of the legislature. After looking into this subject closely this gentleman found that there now exists a law that gives directors of city libraries the right to purchase sites and erect buildings by referring the proposition to the city council for their approval, but that this law is so constituted that it does not answer for township libraries.

We believe that in every township in the state, not already supplied, there will be sooner or later a determination to build and equip a public library, and the purpose as set forth in the proposed bill is to give the directors of these institutions power to call special elections when, by ballot, the proposition to buy a site or to erect a library building may be acted upon by the people.

May we again ask you to give this matter your careful consideration, and, if the measure meets with your approval, to write to your representatives in the house and senate asking them to vote for the bill.

The success of the bill depends very largely upon the interest that the directors of the public libraries throughout the state give to it. It is hoped that you will give this measure your hearty and active support.

Miss S. E. Gray, Librarian,

Kewanee Public Library."

The bill became a law, under which, on July 25, 1905, the citizens of Kewanee township carried by a large majority the proposition to issue fifteen one thousand dollar bonds, bearing five per cent semi-annual interest, the bonds payable annually, the first one thousand dollars on May 1, 1907, and the last on May 1 1921. Mr. Carnegie was immediately informed of this vote and of the purpose of the board to buy a site.

In January, 1906, the board, after examining the rough sketches of library buildings presented by various competitors, chose Messrs. Patton and Miller of Chicago, as architects of the Kewanee building.

The most beautiful available lot in the city, at the southeast corner of Tremont and First streets, was bought January 20, 1906, at a cost of ten thousand dollars.

For the purposes of studying library buildings preparatory to the determination of plans for the Kewanee building, the board visited the libraries in Rock Island, Moline, Davenport, Clinton, Sterling and Aurora.

The committee of the board, Messrs. Ecklund, Lory and Phillips, to whom was assigned the duty of preparing, in a general way, plans for the building as suggestions of the board to the architect, reported to the board that with the money, twenty-five thousand dollars now in hand, it was impossible to build such a building as the people wanted, and recommended that the whole matter be laid before the people and that there be an additional fifteen thousand dollars in bonds issued by the township. The recommendation was adopted and the propo­ sition thus to bond the township was carried on June 5, 1906.

In the meantime Mr. Carnegie had been asked whether it would be possible, in view of the large increase of population in the township since his offer was made, for him to increase his gift.

Mr. Carnegie had based his gift, twenty thousand dollars, on the population of the city of Kewanee, not on that of the township, census of 1900, and consequently refused an increase.

After repeated unavailing efforts with representations of the great growth of the city and township, the board asked Mr. A. M. Hewlett, president of the Western Tube Company, to aid in bringing Kewanee's needs before Mr. Carnegie.

The board of directors and the people of Kewanee are under great obligations to Mr. Hewlett for the skillful manner in which he conducted a long correspondence with Mr. Carnegie's secretary, and secured from Mr. Carnegie an increase of five thousand dollars, making his gift twenty-five thousand dollars.

This with the proceeds of the sale of the house that stood on the library lot, and with the premium received on the sale of the bonds, gave about fifty thou­ sand dollars, for the building and equipment after paying ten thousand dollars for the site.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE LIBRARY

 

History of Henry County

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