DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Potter County Library. Now settle in, because this one starts the way all good Texas stories do — with twelve women and a problem to solve. The year was 1902, and the women of Potter County decided their community needed a free library.
Twelve of them organized it, just like that. No grand building, no government check — just twelve local women with a vision and a community willing to pitch in. Citizens started donating books.
They held bazaars. Candy sales. All manner of fundraising activities to scrape together enough money to buy more volumes for the shelves.
And when it came time for an actual building, Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Willis stepped up and donated a lot and a house to serve as that very first library home.
Now, you know how it goes when something catches on — it outgrows its britches. That first building filled up, and the library had to move. It moved to the old post office.
Then the fire station. Then city hall. Wandering from building to building like it was looking for a permanent place to hang its hat.
Then in July of 1921, the Potter County commissioners court finally granted approval for a county-supported library. That was the turning point. With county backing secured, Amarillo architects J.
Roy Smith and W.C. Townes drew up the plans. The W.M.
Rice construction company built it in 1922, and the whole project came in at twenty-five thousand dollars. What they built wasn't just a place to check out books. The basement was set up as a public lounge — a place for women shoppers and their children, and for tourists passing through.
We're talking a living room, a lunch room, an assembly hall, a resting room, all staffed by a matron. A genuine community anchor. And the building itself?
It's something to look at. Clean lines, horizontal emphasis, geometric detailing — the kind of work that architects call the prairie school style. A significant local example of institutional building from the 1920s, they say.
Those twelve women in 1902 couldn't have known the brick-and-mortar legacy their candy sales and book drives would eventually become. But here it stands.
What the marker says
The Potter County free library was organized in 1902 by twelve local women. Many citizens donated books, and held bazaars, candy sales, and other activities to raise money to purchase more books. Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Willis donated a lot and house for the first library building. As these accommodations were outgrown, the library moved to the old post office, the fire station, and to city hall. The Potter County commissioners court granted approval for a county-supported library in July 1921. This building was designed by Amarillo Architects J. Roy Smith and W.C. Townes, and was built in 1922 by the W.M. Rice construction company at a cost of $25,000. The basement of the library was used as a public lounge to meet the needs of women shoppers and their children, and tourists. The facility included a living room, lunch room, assembly hall and resting room, and was staffed by a matron. A significant local example of an institutional building of the 1920's, this structure exhibits the clean lines, horizontal emphasis, and geometric detailing typical of the prairie school style of architecture. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1996