Carnegie Library & Log Cabin

Carnegie Library and Log Cabin. . Carnegie Library/Historical Museum , The first public library in Edmonds was opened in 1901, with a rotating stock of books provided by the Washington State Traveling Library Committee. In 1909, Reverend Lockwood succeeded in acquiring a $5000 Carnegie grant for a new library building. The classic brick structure was dedicated on February 10, 1911. The books were housed in the upper level, with Edmonds city offices, meeting rooms and even jail cells on the lower level. Children who lived in homes across the street in the 1930's and 40's remember playing in the alley and daring each other to call out to the unfortunates in jail. After relocation of both the library and city offices to larger quarters in 1962, the library building became home to Edmonds Parks and Recreation Department., In the early 1970's, members of the newly formed Edmonds-South Snohomish Historical Society approached the Mayor and City Council with a proposal to rescue the building for a new historical museum, making it one of only 271 of the original 1,681 Carnegie Grant Libraries still in use. The Edmonds-South Snohomish Historical Museum opened in August of 1973., Ganahl-Hanley Cabin , Edmond's iconic log cabin was originally erected in the 1930's on the estate of Seaview Heights resident Gaston Ganahl. He commissioned a builder who had worked on the Yellowstone National Park cabins to create his hand-hewn Douglas fir log house from trees surrounding the building site., The second owners, Lee and Dorie Hanley, donated the cabin to the City of Edmonds in 1975. The 26-foot-tall building made a historic 2-day journey from Seaview to 5th and Bell in downtown Edmonds, with utility crews unhooking and reconnecting overhead wires along the way., In 1990 the cabin became the Edmonds Visitors Center. The little building was in need of repair and a new foundation. A grassroots effort to save the cabin raised over $100,000 for its restoration from individual private donations, ensuring its survival into the new century., Photos courtesy of Edmonds Historical Museum