Carnegie Library, Paris, IL

[LIB3689]

Over one hundred years ago on June 24, 1904, citizens of Paris assembled at the Christian Church to dedicate the new Paris Carnegie Library, a real brick and mortar structure. Frank T. O'Hair presented the library on behalf of the board with Mayor Baum accepting the gift. Following the celebration, the library building was opened to the public for inspection. Over 3,000 volumes were on the shelves.

Dr. E. O. Laughlin, who was on the city council, described the process that finally gave rise to the present Carnegie Library. “The idea of securing a Carnegie Library for Paris crystallized in the Ferris drug store, which served the purpose of a popular club in the ‘90’s and later. It was presided over by the genial Dr. Edmund Ferris, veteran of the Civil War, who talked well, listened better, and whose hospitality was such that he never thought of closing the store as long as one guest would remain.” [Thanks to the Paris Public Library, www.parispubliclibrary.org] You may read a more extensive history of the Paris Public Library, including some interior photographs, HERE.