Carnegie Library Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some buildings just sit there, four walls, a roof, end of story. But this one, this Carnegie Library Building in Terrell, Kaufman County, has got a few layers worth peeling back.

Let's start at the beginning. Back in the 1890s, the land this library stands on was owned by a local publisher by the name of O. B.

Colquitt. Now, you might file that away as a minor detail; a publisher owned some land, so what. But Colquitt wasn't done making history.

He went on to become the governor of Texas. The ground beneath this library has got some ambition baked right into it. The building itself was completed in 1904, and if you're looking at it and thinking, that has a certain classical dignity to it, well, you'd be right.

It was designed by the Waco firm of Messer and Smith, and they brought classical detailing to the work. This wasn't somebody throwing up a practical box and calling it a library. This was a statement.

Now, here's the part of the story I want you to sit with for a moment. None of this happens without the women's clubs of Terrell. They're the ones who did the pushing, the organizing, the convincing; because it was through their efforts that the Andrew Carnegie Foundation came through with the funds for the building.

Carnegie money, earned by Terrell's women fighting for it. And the city of Terrell held up its end too, contributing money for the library's operations. So what you've got here is a building born from a publisher's old land, shaped by Waco architects, funded by Carnegie through the determination of local women's clubs, and kept running by the city itself.

Every piece of that story had to fall into place. And in 1904, it did.

What the marker says

Completed in 1904, this library building is located on land owned in the 1890s by local publisher O. B. Colquitt, who later became the governor of Texas. It was designed by the Waco firm of Messer and Smith and features classical detailing. Through the efforts of the women's clubs of Terrell, the Andrew Carnegie Foundation provided funds for the building, and the city of Terrell contributed money for the library operations. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983