Galena Public Library

Galena Public Library. . In 1892, Benjamin Franklin Felt, a retired local merchant, presented the Galena City Council with a petition to fund a free public library. When the council said no, Felt and his daughter Anna opened their parlor to the public as a lending library., Two years later, Felt offered to pay the total costs to start a library, donate 1,200 books, as well as find and pay for a location. The qualification was that after two years the city would then take over and run the library with a tax of forty cents per household per year. The offer met with tremendous public support, and the City Council voted to accept Felt's generous proposition., B. F. Felt's proposal was unique in one important respect. He stipulated that four of the nine Library Board Trustees be female. The Chicago Evening Post was unable to find a woman library director in any institution in Chicago, reporting, "Galena truly has put Chicago to the blush." Anna Felt was the first financial secretary of the Board of Trustees and remained on the trustee board until her death in 1953., The Galena Public Library and Reading Room opened on January 3, 1895, on the second floor of the old Post Office which had been the Customs House. The new library established rules stating that no "anarchistic, atheistic, or immoral book shall be tolerated; … that no person having any contagious disease be allowed in the library; and that perfect quiet must be maintained in the Reading Room.", Within a few years, the library was overcrowded. In 1905, David Sheean, the President of the Board of Trustees, contacted Andrew Carnegie, who offered $12,500 if a site were furnished and if the city would maintain the library. The B. F. Felt Estate matched the Carnegie offer and would also provide land for the library., Anna Felt bought the library lot and stipulated that the site be viewed from the heart of town, "a perspective in perpetuity." To ensure the building's visibility from Main Street and Park Avenue, Anna purchased property and the Stillman family donated land in front of the library from Bench Street to Main Street, which became known as Library Park., The cornerstone of the new library was laid on April 27, 1907. Built of Indiana limestone in Classical Greek Style, the library building also incorporated Prairie Style elements in its interior. The two glass mosaic fireplaces were a gift from Emma Robb, originator of the children's story hour and a family friend of the Felts. The wrought iron stacks are original to the old Post Office library. The completed Galena Public Library was dedicated and opened for the public on Independence Day, July 4, 1908., The Galena Public Library had three indispensable founders in Benjamin Felt, Anna Felt and David Sheean. Through the years, many trustees, librarians and patrons have also made and continue to make vital contributions to its success., Galena Public Library Timeline , October 4, 1894 . Library founded by Benjamin Franklin Felt. , January 3, 1895 . Library opened to the public on the second floor of the old Post Office. , May 12, 1906 . Building site chosen. , October 8, 1906 . First sod turned. , April 27, 1907 . Cornerstone laid. , July 4, 1908 . Galena Public Library dedication. , July 4, 2008 . Flag Raising at centennial celebration.