Moniteau County Library @ Wood Place - California, MO - Libraries on Waymarking.com

County of library: Moniteau County
Location of library: Oak St. & Versailles Ave., California
Phone: 573-796-2642

"Located in the historic Ehrhardt Building, this building was constructed in 1864 and was home to the J. G. Ehrhardt Mercantile Company. The building was purchased by California Progress, Inc. in 1995 and restored to preserve a historical landmark in the community. The library moved into the building in August 1998" ~ Wikipedia

"Our small community library has grown in patrons, collection, technology and vision over the past 15 years that we have been located at 501 South Oak Street. To better reflect our mission to serve all residents of the county and our commitment to be a 21st century library, we are in the process of changing our name. We will be known as Moniteau County Library @ Wood Place, as used on this new web page. We know there is a bright future ahead for us, but we also want to remember and honor our past that brought us to this point.

" In her will Elia Wood Paegelow had left the bulk of her estate (approximately $50,000) to the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, to help establish a public library and recreation area for local youth. The church willingly undertook this task for the next forty-four years (1954 to 1994)

" The talents of Margaret York (Friedmeyer), Virginia Hert, and Dorothy Howard helped furnish the library. Rev. Melvin McCurdy, E.A. McCollester and G.C. McCollester supervised the construction of an outdoor recreation area that included miniature golf, shuffleboard, horseshoes, badminton, and croquet. On June 10, 1955, the Wood Place Library opened with hours the same as they were when the doors closed in 1998. Numerous people donated these hours in order to keep the library doors open. Although the librarians did receive some compensation for their hours, it was never adequate for all the services they performed. The men and women who gave of their time and talents to keep the library open and ensure the growth of the Paegelow estate have enabled California area residents to now enjoy a newer, bigger, and more modern library." ~ Library web site

[Please red the entire story in the library link below, under History it is fascinating.]

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