Frankfort Community Public Library; Frankfort, Indiana
Posted by: 
boatchick
N 40° 16.850 W 086° 30.818
16T E 541345 N 4459041
Now in its second century of service to the community, the Frankfort Community Public Library is made up of the original Carnegie building and a large new wing.
Waymark Code: WM6D7N
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 05/15/2009
Views: 16
As in many Midwestern towns, library service in Frankfort started as a subscription library whose collection was stored in whatever space became available. When the library found a home at the High School, the school superintendent Edwin Monroe contacted Andrew Carnegie to request a grant for a dedicated library building. Carnegie responded in 1905; however, three sources disagree on the amount of the grant. (A contemporary source, the November 1906 edition of
Library Occurrent, a publication of the Indiana Public Library Commission, gives the amount as $17,500.) The library was built of Bedford limestone and used white oak inside. Original projected opening date was April of 1907, but delays pushed the formal opening back to 14 February 1908.
The Carnegie building was expanded in 1988 when the Mary Gorham Herrick Wing tripled the size of the library. Funded largely by donations, the new addition became home to a theatre and an art gallery. Today, the Carnegie portion of the library is home to the children's department on the second floor, and what appears to be offices on the ground floor. The intricate plasterwork in the children's area is well-maintained and very eye-catching. Andrew Carnegie's portrait hangs in the lobby of the library.
References:
Library Occurrent, Indiana Public Library Commission, Indiana State Library: Numbers 1-4 (April 1906), Number 6 (November 1906), Number 11 (March 1908)
Frankfort Community Public Library
Bobinski, George S. Carnegie Libraries