The story of public libraries in Wharton begins in 1901 with the formation of the El Campo Library Association. This group provided an inventory of 500 books to be available in the El Campo Citizen Newspaper building. In 1904, the New Century Club gifted the Wharton City Hall with a nucleus of books that was soon called the New Century Library. A bookmobile serviced communities and mostly schoolchildren as a library on wheels. Books were costly at the time, and grants helped the library grow collections and literacy projects over the years.
In 1938, the local Parent Teacher Association made a County Library its main project, and that year residents voted overwhelmingly to fund it. The next year, County Commissioners established a Library Board with members representing most of the county’s communities. The former County Jail on Fulton Street housed the library’s first location, with Hazel Pace as the first librarian and more than 4,600 books available. By summer 1940, branch locations opened in Wharton and across the county. During WWII, the library became a headquarters of literature for servicemen initiating a “victory book campaign” to provide quality reading for soldiers. It was declared an Official War Information Center that kept information on farm security and defense, civilian protection, material conservation and other necessary topics.
In 1963, Wharton County developed a 2-acre site on Alabama Road belonging to the Santa Fe Railway to become the new Central Library. To help the move, each patron was asked to check out 10 books from the old site to return at the new location. New facilities were also completed in El Campo and Louise by 1965. A new main branch opened in Wharton in 1999.
(2019)
Marker is property of the State of Texas