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Category Archives: Library

The First Women’s Club In Michigan

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Library .

The Ladies’ Library Association of Kalamazoo officially incorporated in 1852 and it was the first women’s club organized in Michigan and the third organized in the United States. Its purpose was to promote the cause of equal education for women. The organization built This building in downtown Kalamazoo in 1879, and it is the building first in the nation erected for the use of a women’s club. Yearly subscriptions cost fifty cents and were available to both men and women, however, only women could be members of the organization. In addition to creating Kalamazoo’s first lending library, the LLA activities have included advocating for the right for women to vote, the creation of day nurseries for working mothers, founding Kalamazoo’s first art club, and establishing a community education program for women

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The Library in Nashville

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library, small towns .

The town of Nashville Michigan is about twenty miles southwest of Lansing. It was named for George Nash an engineer in charge of construction with the Michigan Central Railroad. Near the center of town is the Putmam Library. If it looks like an Italianate style house that’s because it was. Built in 1884-85, it was the home of Charles W. and Agnes Putnam. Mr. Putnam was a hardware merchant and banker; Mrs. Putnam taught music and was the first public school teacher in Nashville. Around the turn of the century, the Putnams hosted many elegant social events here. In 1921 they willed their home to Nashville for use as a public library. They established a ten-thousand-dollar trust fund to begin its operation. The Woman’s Literary Club launched the library in 1923.

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The Castle of Knowledge

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library .

Prominent grocer and druggist in Coldwater, Edwin R. Clark, donated the money to build this grand library. Constructed in 1886 the library has been a part of the community ever since. It reminds me of a great white castle with its turret standing tall on the corner of the building. An addition was added to the original building in 1979. Out front stands a historical marker declaring the beginning of the state’s Library Association. It reads:

The first formal step toward the founding of a state library association was taken by Mary A. Eddy, of the Coldwater Free Public Library in a letter to Henry M. Utley of the Detroit Public Library on January 13, 1891. They had discussed this matter at the 1890 meeting of the American Library Association in New Hampshire, A state association, they believed would be helpful to Michigan Librarians unable to attend national library conferences. Working closely with Lucy Ball, Grand Rapids Public Library, they awakened statewide interest and arranged the first Michigan meeting in Detroit, September 1, 1891. Mr. Utley became the association’s first president.

I am thankful we have such a wonderful library system in Michigan. If my local library in Saginaw does not have a book I need, I can request it from another library in Michigan.  Even today with the internet, I still need to find information in books, and having the ability to access so many books is a blessing.

P.S. I also found this postcard of the library shortly after it was built and long before the addition was added in 1979. It must have been painted a different color before it was painted white.

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Henika Ladies Library

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library .

henika library wayland michigan

I love this little library in Wayland. Here is what the Historical Marker next to it reads:

Upon her death in April 1899, Julia Robinson Henika bequeathed two thousand dollars to the Wayland Ladies Library Association for construction of a library building. Her husband George H. Henika, and mother, Mary Forbes, later donated additional funds toward its construction. Grand Rapids architect Fred H. Eely designed the building, which the Wayland Globe newspaper predicted would be “A Very Pretty and Modern Affair.” The picturesque library opened in the spring of 1900. Although domestic in scale, the building gleans an impressive Richardsonian quality from the random ashlar fieldstone and Eely’s design. The stone used in construction was gathered from a local farm.

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Hoyt Library

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library .

I spend a lot of time doing research for Lost In Michigan and one of my favorite places is Hoyt Library in downtown Saginaw. I love roaming the shelves of this historic building. A historical marker stands next to it and reads:

The Saginaw Evening News declared the Hoyt Library “a noble institution” and “the pride of all Saginawians” when it opened in 1890. The library was a gift to the people of Saginaw from New York businessman Jesse Hoyt (1815-1882), who had real estate and lumber interests in the Saginaw Valley. Hoyt’s will set aside $100,000 for a public library here. After a national competition among leading architects, the Hoyt Trust chose the Boston architectural firm of Van Brunt and Howe. When the Richardsonain Romanesque style building was completed it exemplified modern library construction. The present building includes a 1921 addition by Edward Tilton of New York and a 1960 addition by Frederick E. Wigen Architects of Saginaw.

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Linden Mills

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Grain Elevators, Library .

Linden Mills

The Linden Mills were a vital source of this village’s economic growth. The first mill, located on land granted to Consider Warner, was used to cut lumber. From 1845-1850 Seth Sadler and Samuel W. Warren, local residents, erected both a saw and grist mill. Operating along with the earlier facility, this complex was called the Linden Mills. The grist mill continued to function for over a century until the machinery was dismantled and sold at auction in 1956. The village then purchased the building for municipal offices and a public Library.

Reminder: If you live in the Fenton area I will be giving a presentation on

January 29th from 2-4 pm

Tyrone Township hall

8420 Runyan Lake Road, Fenton, MI  48430

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Clifford’s Big Brick Building

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library, Schools .

This large brick building stands in the small town of Clifford near the base of the Thumb. Years ago it was built as a high school. It closed in the 70s and is now used as a library.

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Graves Hall

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library .

This beautiful stone building stands on the campus of Hope College in Holland. It was originally constructed as a chapel in 1894. After the construction of a new chapel, it was converted into a library and later on into classrooms and lecture hall.

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Hackley’s Library

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library .

Muskegon has many beautiful old historic buildings and one of my favorites is the Hackley Public Library. The Historical marker in fron of the magnificent stone building reads:

On May 25, 1888, Muskegon lumber baron Charles H. Hackley announced that he would donate a library to the city. Hackley stipulated that the facility be “forever maintained as a library.” Patton and Fisher of Chicago, one of the six firms invited to submit a plan for the library designed a Richardsonian Romanesque – style building. The library was constructed of Maine granite and trimmed with Marquette sandstone. The reading room windows depict Shakespeare, Goethe, Longfellow and Prescott.

Muskegon citizens celebrated the laying of the Hackley Public Library cornerstone on May 25, 1889, the anniversary of Charles Hackley’s donation of the library. It was the first annual celebration held in recognition of Hackley. The previous year the board of education had resolved that classes would be suspended annually on May 25 on Hackley’s honor. On October 15, 1890, the completed library was dedicated. The lot, building and furnishings amounted to a $175,000 gift.

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Carnegie Libraries in Michigan

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library .

The first week of April is Library week. Michigan has many beautiful libraries and I put together a list of some of my favorite Carnegie Libraries. I still love going to my local library to borrow books and do research. Even in this hi-tech era with the internet, I find the good old-fashioned library is needed and they have lots of information that I can’t find on the internet.

Escanaba Public Library

Escanaba Public Library

The Carnegie library opened in May 1903 located at 201 South Seventh Street in Escanaba, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and constructed with $20,000 in funds donated by Andrew Carnegie. The city of escanaba promised additional yearly operation funds. The building was designed by local architect Theodore Lohff. In 1992, the city began construction on a new city hall and library complex. The library moved to the new location in 1995, and the old Carnegie building was sold to private owners, who refurbished it with the intention of converting it into a private home.

 

Houghton Public Library

Portage Lake District Library in Houghton

The building was built with a 1908 grant from Andrew Carnegie. It served as the public library for Houghton, Michigan from its opening in 1910 until 2006. It is the former building of the Portage Lake District Library. The building was built in 1909, at the site originally occupied by the Armory Building for Company G of the Houghton Light Infantry, using a $15,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. The building was declared a Michigan State Historic Site on June 18, 1976, listed as the Houghton Public Library. The building is built in the Classical Revival style.

Since 2006 it has been The Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw that houses changing exhibits about local cultural and natural history. In October 2013, the museum became a Heritage Site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park

Iron Mountain Carnegie Library

iron mountain library

While in Iron Mountain on business during 1901, Andrew Carnegie saw the need for a library on the Menominee Iron Range which was then a prospering area. He donated $15,000 for this building. Serving the community for over seventy years, the Neo-Classical Revival structure, designed by James E. Clancy, was one of the earliest Carnegie libraries in the Great Lake State. In 1971 this edifice became the Menominee Range Museum, featuring the history of its namesake.

 

Manistee City Library
manistee library

In 1885 a group of Manistee ladies formed the Lakeside Club, whose primary goal was to create a library. In 1902 the club joined forces with the local literary society and successfully campaigned for a public library. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation funded the construction. The Manistee City Library opened in 1905. Designed by Port Huron architect George L. Harvey, the building, with its grand entrance pavilion, reflects Beaux Arts Classicism. The library is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.”

 

Marlette District Library
marlette library s

In 1914 the Marlette Research Club composed of women in the community decided to build a public library for Marlette. The club contacted the Carnegie Corporation for a grant to build the library. In compliance with the Carnegie Corporation’s rules, Marlette raised funds and instituted a quarter-mill tax for maintenance of the library. In 1918 the Carnegie Corporation agreed to fund the Research Club’s library project. The simple brick building was constructed in 1921. The building has a hipped roof and a portico of classical design. The library was the last in the Midwest to receive a Carnegie library grant and the second to the last to do so in the country. The Marlette District Library is one of fifty-three Michigan libraries funded by the Carnegie Corporation.

 

Owosso Public Library

Owosso Library 2

The Shiawassee District Library branch in Owosso was built on a Carnegie library grant. The library was granted $20,000 on April 2, 1913

 

Petoskey Public Library 

petoskey library

On 27 January 1908, Andrew Carnegie gave the City of Petoskey $12,500, and the Common Council agreed by definite resolution to maintain the library when completed The building was designed by the Grand Rapids firm of Williamson & Crow, Architects. It was constructed in 1908 and dedicated in 1909. Only the best stone and brick were to be used on the exterior, with black ash woodwork used extensively inside.The existing Carnegie Library building is one of the most significant historic buildings in Petoskey, architecturally as the most outstanding example of the neo-classical revival style, and historically as one of an ever-decreasing number of remaining Carnegie libraries in the country. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by its inclusion in the Downtown Petoskey Historic District. It is the oldest municipal building in Emmet County in continuous original use.

While living in Petoskey in 1919, the library was a favorite haunt of  Earnest Hemingway’s and, in December, wearing his Italian cape and Red Cross uniform, he spoke here to the Ladies Aid Society about his world war I experiences. At that event he met the Connable family who led to his connection with the Toronto Star newspaper and his employment as its European Correspondent

Port Huron Public Library

port huron library 2 bw

The Port Huron Public Library opened on May 26, 1904. The keynote address was delivered by Melvil Dewey, State Librarian of New York, and creator of the Dewey Decimal System. The building was financed by a $40,000.00 donation from Pittsburgh philanthropist and steel entrepreneur Andrew Carnegie. In 1967, the Port Huron Public Library was moved and reconstituted as the St. Clair County, Michigan Library System. the building was slated for demolition. Through the dedicated efforts of concerned volunteers, the Museum of Arts & History opened its doors on May 3, 1968.

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