St. Cloud in Osceola County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Veterans Memorial Library

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 7, 2017

1. Veterans Memorial Library Marker

Inscription.

The Ladies Improvement Club of St. Cloud organized in 1910 for the betterment of the community through civic projects and the advocacy of literacy. The club established a small area in the Sugar Belt Railway depot for books and magazines for public use. As the community grew, the club relocated the collection to a small building on Pennsylvania Avenue, then later to the second floor of city hall on Florida Avenue and 10th Street. The library became an important focus of the club and community. In 1915, club president Mary George worked with Judge W.G. Peckham to secure lots on Massachusetts Avenue for the construction of a new library building. Within a year, the club raised $700 to pay for the lots. Contributions from Union Army veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic helped fund construction of the library in 1922. It was designed by Orlando architects Ida Anna Ryan, the first woman to earn a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Isabel Roberts, who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. Ryan and Roberts insisted on a motto. Thomas Carlyle's "The true university is a collection of books"

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was selected. (Continued on other side) Reverse: (Continued from other side) This Grecian style building, constructed by P.E. Morgan, was composed of hollow clay tile with stained stucco exterior finish. The dedication of the Veterans Memorial Library in February 1923 was presided over by the president of the Ladies Improvement Club. Sixty members of the Grand Army of the Republic and forty members its auxiliary, the Woman's Relief Corps, marched to the library for Flag-raising ceremonies. The Ladies Improvement Club, renamed the Woman's Club of St. Cloud in 1941, maintained and operated the library until it became part of the Osceola County library system in 1968. The building served as the city's library for over 50 years until the library moved in 1974. Thereafter it was used a a re-sale shop for the American Red Cross and other civic groups until 2000. The City of St. Cloud purchased the building in 2001 and began renovations to establish the St. Cloud Heritage Museum run by the Woman's Club of St. Cloud. The museum opened in February 2008 and houses the records and artifacts of St. Cloud's history.

Erected 2016 by St.

Veterans Memorial Library Marker reverse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 7, 2017

2. Veterans Memorial Library Marker reverse

Cloud Main Street, The City of St. Cloud, and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-903.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Frank Lloyd Wright, and the The Grand Army of the Republic series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1922.

Location. 28° 14.902′ N, 81° 17.088′ W. Marker is in St. Cloud, Florida, in Osceola County. It is on Massachusetts Avenue just north of 11th Street, on the left when traveling north. Library is now the St. Cloud Heritage Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1012 Massachusetts Avenue, Saint Cloud FL 34769, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Orlando

and in Central Florida.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and

Veterans Memorial Library and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 7, 2017

3. Veterans Memorial Library and Marker

the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Hamilton Disston’s Sugarcane Mill (within shouting distance of this marker); Grand Army of the Republic Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Coble’s Garage (within shouting distance of this marker); Fisk Funeral Home (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hunter Arms Hotel (about 400 feet away); The Great Fire of 1917 (about 500 feet away); Veterans of All Wars (about 500 feet away); Four Firsts (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Cloud.

Veterans Memorial Library image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 7, 2017

4. Veterans Memorial Library

Credits. This page was last revised on March 4, 2018. It was originally submitted on April 22, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 714 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 22, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.