Caldwell County MO Archives History .....A SKETCH OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IDEA IN HAMILTON 
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Karen Walker khw4@yahoo.com September 4, 2008, 1:53 pm

	A SKETCH OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IDEA IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Mrs. Mittie Whitman and Mrs. Laura Logan

     The idea of a public library in Hamilton was long a dream before its 
realization in the splendid Hamilton Library of today.
     In the earlier days, when books were high and very uncommon in many homes 
in town, the churches tried to fill the reading need by having Sunday school 
libraries.  Members of the Baptist church tell of books ordered shortly after 
the church was organized for the Sunday school.  The Episcopal church 
maintained a fine library for its young folks in the 70s, and the 
Congregational kept one going till in the 90s.  Naturally, however, the Sunday 
school type of literature did not appeal to everyone.
     Early in the 80s, there began to be a concerted planning of the better 
people in town toward a reading room and a library for those who were 
interested.  A fund of $100 was collected by a subscription paper, each giving 
a dollar which made him a member for a year in the library association.  He 
could take books home, for a certain time.  Anyone who wanted to drop into the 
library (or better reading room) could read there for nothing.  The library 
was started in a back room of a store for a short while.  The association was 
composed of Rev. Rogers (Presbyterian pastor) A.R. Torrey a literary minded 
business man, and the W.C.T.U. as librarians.  Rev. Mathews of the 
congregational church, was one of the men who roused much interest in the 
project.  Mrs. Mary Norton of the W.C.T.U. was one of the women who worked the 
hardest for the final attainment of the library idea.
     It was moved from Franke's room to the basement under Hale's store 1885.  
Different club meetings were held there, when the room was open.  But in a few 
years, the W.C.T.U. ladies said that the room was so poorly attended by 
readers that it was not worth the time to keep it open, so the few books left 
were boxed up, stored away and the library closed.
     The Hamilton High School Library was opened to the reading public in 
1902.  At that time, it contained 250 volumnes which were housed at the end of 
a room on the second floor of the first High School building.  This same room 
was the office of the Superintendent of schools and a laboratory.  Thomas 
Filson, a business man of town, offered to be a librarian for nothing and the 
library was opened to the public, having other unpaid helpers.
     Shortly afterward, some one thought of the 100 books which had been 
stored away, the property of the life members of the old library association.  
These life members donated their 100 books to the new library.  The new 
building for a High School planned a room on the first floor to be set aside 
for a library and this thing was done, but while the second high school 
building was under construction, Mrs. Alice McCoy, the second librarian, who 
received a small pay, conducted the library on the second floor of the McCoy's 
grocery on Broadway.  When the second High School burned, many of the library 
books were burned too.  Such are some of the steps which have led to the 
Hamilton Library which is now city owned and not a part of the school system.


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