It’s National Library Week and I feel the urge to ruminate on the public library, one of the most valuable institutions in this country.
My love affair with the public library started very early, and fittingly it was with a historic house repurposed for use as a library. Once you walked in the front door, there were big chairs on either side of the central hallway, right by the check out desk. I clearly remember sitting there with a stack of books as I watched my mother’s small car roll down the library’s steep driveway into West High Street. She was not pleased by this turn of events.
The car was unharmed, and we got home safely with my bag of books (the most important thing). And although I have been a card carrying member of many public libraries since then, my first library holds a special place in my heart.
The facade of the James and Mary Kennedy House, later to become the public library.
A lending library has existed in Mt. Sterling since the early days of the town’s settlement. The Mt. Sterling Library Company received a charter from the legislature in 1814. But it’s the history of the library in the 20th century that I find so compelling. Much like the historic preservation movement in this country (thank you Ann Pamela Cunningham!), the library in my hometown was run and kept alive by women for 75 years.*
In 1914, the library was on the second floor of the fire department. Not really conducive to a calming library experience!
The Mt. Sterling Woman’s Club was one of the first organized in Kentucky (1895), having developed from what was originally a literary society. During the Progressive Era (roughly 1896 to around World War I), women – seen as the moral authority of the family – sought to influence public policy and seek reforms in areas like child labor, education, suffrage, and – the creation of public libraries. In 1906, the Mt. Sterling Woman’s Club took over operation of the local library.**
From the February 21, 1912 edition of the Mt. Sterling Advocate, an account of fundraiser for the library. They raised $115.
One of the six trustees for the library – all women – was Mrs. James Kennedy. During an age when women were only referred to by their husband’s name, there is a dearth of immediately available information on Mary “Mayme” Thompson, who married James Kennedy when she was 21 years old. (As a side note, I took notice of her married name – her brother-in-law, Thomas Kennedy, married my great-grandfather’s sister. ) She joined the fledgling Woman’s Club in 1898, and her generosity would shape library history.
Façade and side elevation.
The newlyweds lived with the bride’s family on High Street (possibly the Thompson House at 27 West High Street) for a while before moving to the Thompson farm on the Maysville Road. But in 1909, they had a handsome one-story brick house constructed on West High Street.
From the December 15, 1909 edition of the Mt. Sterling Advocate.
The three bay wide house is an elegant celebration of the Neoclassical (or Colonial Revival) style that was very popular in Kentucky at the time. A pedimented porch with Ionic columns and a cornice detailed with brackets spans the facade. The handsome entry door is flanked by sidelights and the windows feature jackarches with stone keystones. Numerous interior brick chimneys pierce the hipped roof. A small frame outbuilding, possibly a carriage house, was originally located at the rear of the parcel.
A section of the 1914 Sanborn Fire Insurance map showing the Kennedy house.
In 1940, James and Mary, who had no children, lived in this house, which was valued at $6,500. Mary died in 1961, and left her home to the library and the woman’s club. At the time, the library was housed in the old city jail and jailer’s residence, and had upwards of 9,000 books. But the library budget was small, and I don’t imagine that any amount of parties, teas, or facility rentals made much difference.
A window on the side elevation.
But Mary Thompson Kennedy’s bequest also included furniture and bank stock – all of which would help transform the Kennedy home into a fit home for the library and its then 17,000 volume collection. A fundraising drive kicked off in order to raise the $25,000 needed to renovate the 1909 house with new lighting, fresh paint, the construction of book shelves, adding parking spaces, and improving the driveway. (I imagine my mother would argue the driveway wasn’t improved enough.)
The new library opened on May 9, 1963. I can only imagine the excitement and elation of the members of the Woman’s Club – women might have gained the right to vote during their stewardship of the public library, but women were still relegated to the house, the kitchen, or other spots deemed appropriate by men at the time. Opening a new library in a building not loaned on sufferance by local government was a big deal.
I wish I had photographs of the interior when it was a library. It was a magical space. The front rooms were bathed in natural light, and the bookshelves extended shakily to the ceiling – or at least it seemed to me at the time. (The element of danger from a collapsing bookshelf added to the magic.) And that front porch! The porch is a dream.
Another view of the facade.
But the house, as lovely as it is, wasn’t designed for a growing library. A tax district was finally established to help fund the library, and in 1984, a new library building opened on West Main Street. Sadly, a number of historic houses were demolished as part of this project, and I don’t know if anyone documented them beforehand.
The library is now in another new building on North Maysville Street, and I’m happy to say that both the Mary Kennedy House and the 1984 structure have been adaptively reused. I get to see my old library every year at tax time – not quite the same feeling I had as a child surrounded by books, but…I do appreciate the care that Faulkner, King & Wenz, PSC have taken with this beloved building.
From the October 17, 1922 edition of the Mt. Sterling Advocate.
Public libraries are a treasure to their communities. My hometown has experienced unrest in recent years (even when I lived far away, our local weekly paper kept me informed about all local activities – a small plug for the important of local journalism!) about the funding of the library, which makes me roll me eyes in frustration. Local taxes help fund local schools, maintenance of local roads, police and fire services, and local health services. If you have a problem with an institution that lets you read, learn, and participate for free, then I suppose you also see no need for traffic lights, snow removal, garbage collection, or ambulances.
So share some love for your public library and treasure the one you know and use! There may have been a woman like Mary Thompson Kennedy and her fellow Woman’s Club members responsible for ensuring your community had a library at all.
*The Woman’s Club ran the library until 1984.
**The Montgomery County Public Library has – or did have – many primary source materials relating to the history of the Mt. Sterling Woman’s Club, and by extension, the history of the library.
A special thank you to all of the librarians who have touched my life and made it better. The library was a refuge and escape for me, and no matter what sort of building housed the collection, it was always a magical space. Mrs. Stephens, Mrs. Hardwick, & Mrs. Pittman at the Montgomery County Library were so wonderful. Thank you for keeping my library card on file so it was there on my weekly visit. I am sorry I lost so many library cards. I wish I remembered more names, but I appreciate each and every library worker. And to the librarians at my elementary, middle, and high schools – thank you. You helped a nerdy little bookworm feel safe and normal.
I remember the library being in that house. During the 1970’s, I checked out and read probably most of the horse stories they had then. What is that house used for now? I am glad to see that Camargo has a branch library now. Camargo is where I lived.
It is an accounting office and has been for years. It’s in great shape!
That is great.
Libraries — a place of dreams and dreams realized!
BEST POST EVER!!!! So many happy memories of that library.
I remember when the library was above the old fire house on Court St.
My mother was on the board for years and I remember them having meetings at our house to review books to make sure they were suitable to have in the library .
You took me right there even though it was way before my time . I enjoy a vintage space for hardback books and for awhile there was a store called Bison Books…I believe it was in the old florist space for a brief time and owned by Liz Prather …the aroma of the old books and a area with couch seating and fresh coffee brewing on a blustery day …was picture perfect ❤️👠
Beautifully written — we certainly share our love of libraries. My Mom was loved when she served as librarian here by the many young people who read the books she recommended.
What a great piece of history and architecture preserved. To think they were playing 12 table of euchre in 1909!
A very nice piece.
As an “older than dirt” fellow, I remember visits dating back to when the library was over the old fire station in the “city” building. It was then up a dark and narrow flight of stairs, into an equally dim set of rooms, with natural light only from the side facing the street. The “children’s” section was down a half flight of steps from there. As a nerdy kid, I think I read everything in that section at least twice.
If memory serves, “subscriptions” were sold to help pay the cost of books and upkeep, but they were in a trivial amount even then.
The High Street building was remarkable – beautiful on the outside, with finished wood floors and lots more light and room.
My sister (Elizabeth McCormick) was on the board for years before it “went public.” She then served for years on the public board, and was “succeeded” (if there is such a thing), by our daughter, who bears the same first name.
The present structure is a credit to the community.
Went there many times with my aunt . I was little bit loved going with her. Wonderful times back then. Alot of great memories!!