Public Library and Historical Association Building - Lexington, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 11.106 W 093° 52.778
15S E 424029 N 4337686
Historic church then library now museum in Lexington, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WMBHBW
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 05/22/2011
Views: 5
Immediately north of Christ Church is the PUBLIC LIBRARY AND HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION BUILDING, 112 S. Thirteenth St. A two-story frame structure of Classic-Revival design, it was built to house the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The first floor was constructed about 1840 and the second floor added in 1846-7. Later the building passed into other hands; in 1875 James Lane Allen (1849-1925) established a private school in part of it. Finding the venture unsuccessful, Allen soon returned to Kentucky, where he later wrote The Kentucky Cardinal (1894) and other books. In 1924 the building was purchased for a public library. - Missouri: A Guide to the "Show Me" State, Tour 2, pg 374.
In 1974 the library moved to a new building. In 1976 the Lexington Museum opened in the building which is operated by the Lexington Historical Association. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.