Carnegie Library

Carnegie Library. Town of Pendleton. Side A, Pendleton’s first Library Association was formed in 1877. Subscribers paid $5 each for one of 200 association shares. , In 1906, 18 community residents formed the Independent Social Club. Each read a book, they brought it to a meeting. Members exchanged books until everyone had read them all. The library grew to 150 volumes, which were loaned to non-members at five cents a week. The library was located in Tanke’s Drug Store. , Mrs. Sarah Skillen Cook and her fellow club members saw the possibility of building a library and approached Andrew Carnegie and Carnegie Foundation, which agreed to give $8,000 if the town would guarantee $800 per year for upkeep. Thomas M. Hardy, Sr. donated land for the library. A tax was levied to provide the local match. , Side B, The Pendleton and Fall Creek Public Township Public Library was dedicated on March 1, 1912. The Major Henry G.A.R. Post donated 84 volumes of war history. The Saturday Club gave 110 volumes. Churches, clubs, other organizations, and individuals donated liberally. , Margaret Wade of the Anderson Public Library organized the Pendleton Library and served as its first librarian until 1913 when Evangeline Lewis was appointed librarian with her sister Maude Lewis assistant librarian. Financial donations from individuals, clubs, and organizations helped the library grow and add to its collections. The building served as Pendleton’s library until 1991. On May 15, 2005, it was rededicated as Carnegie Learning Center, an alternative school.