Temple Public Library

Duane's take

The marker in front of me tells this story, and I'm going to tell it to you the way it deserves to be told. This is the tale of the Temple Public Library, and it starts, as so many good Texas stories do, with a handful of determined women and a corner of a building nobody else was using. On March 29, 1900, the Women's Literary Club and the Self Culture Club came together and formed a city federation.

Their purpose was plain: organize a public library for the people of Temple. And so they did. The first library opened in a corner of the post office building, then picked up and moved to a book store, because that is what a library does when it has to.

It survives. Now here is where the story gets interesting. In 1901, the national library program of steel millionaire Andrew Carnegie stepped in to fund a brand new building.

Three years later, in 1904, that new structure opened in the center of the city park at First and Central Avenue. Right there in the heart of things. Citizens headed by Mrs.

W.S. Banks ran fund drives to keep the doors open and the lights on, year after year, until 1907 when the city finally appropriated revenue to take on that responsibility. Things were looking steady.

Then 1918 arrived, and fire destroyed the building. Just like that, gone. The library did not give up.

It reopened in 1924 and spent the next several years housed in various businesses around town, making do, until 1929 when it moved into the Municipal Building. The women of the library board ran the program through all of it, holding things together, until the city took over in 1954. And then comes the last chapter, and it is a satisfying one.

After a new postal facility was erected in 1963, the city received that 51-year-old post office building, the very kind of building where this whole story had started. The Renaissance Revival edifice was remodeled in 1964, using funds from a bond issue and the Carnegie Library Association, which means Carnegie's legacy showed up twice in this story. A memorial room inside was named for W.

Goodrich Jones, one of the library's benefactors. The library became a member of the Central Texas Library Association and provides a full program to this day. A public library that started in a corner of a post office ended up, after fires and fund drives and decades of determination, back inside a post office.

Some stories know how to come full circle.

What the marker says

On March 29, 1900, the Women's Literary Club and the Self Culture Club formed a city federation for the purpose of organizing a public library. Soon the first library opened in a corner of the post office building and later moved to a book store. In 1901 the national library program of steel millionaire Andrew Carnegie funded a library building. The new structure was opened in 1904 in the center of the city park at First and Central Avenue. Citizens headed by Mrs. W.S. Banks held fund drives to operate the facility until 1907 when the city appropriated revenue. In 1918, fire destroyed the building. The library reopened in 1924 and was housed in various business until 1929 when it moved into the Municipal Building. Women of the library board ran the program until the city took over in 1954. After a new postal facility was erected in 1963 the city received this 51-year-old post office building for a library. The Renaissance Revival edifice was remodeled in 1964 using funds from a bond issue and the Carnegie Library Association. A memorial room was named for W. Goodrich Jones, one of the library's benefactors. This facility is a member of the Central Texas Library Association and provides a full program. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978