Safety Harbor Historical Site: First Dedicated Library - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Between 1949 and 1994, this building served as Safety Harbor's First Dedicated Library. The history of the Safety Harbor Public Library actually began ten years earlier, in November 1938, when the Women's Civic Club established a library at the Community House, a small building used for public meetings and events. It was located on 2nd Street North near the current location of the Rigsby Center.
Miss Daisy Cahow was appointed as Safety Harbor's first librarian by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). Supplies were expensive and limited, but by January 1939, the Women's Civic Club succeeded in obtaining books for the library's few shelves. Mrs. Cahow organized a weekly Children's Story Time and continued to ask the community for gifts and loans of books. Less than a year later, the small space allotted to the library was so full of books that the librarian moved her desk outside.
During World War II, the tiny library suffered W.P.A. funding cuts and was closed for much of the week for several years. Late in 1946, Dr. Salem Baranoff purchased what is now the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa and took an interest in his new community. Dr. Baranoff learned of the city's need for a library, so he purchased this land and donated it for that purpose. Ceremonies for the new building were held on November 18, 1949. One speaker called it "a dream come true." The Women's Civic Club continued to support the library though various fundraising efforts until 1985 when they sold the property and turned over full operation to the City.
In 1994, the City of Safety Harbor opened the existing facility at 101 2nd Street North, in front doors facing the beautiful Grand Oak named in honor of Dr. Baranoff for his contributions to the formation of the city's first dedicated library nearly fifty years earlier.

Marker Number: None Date: None County: Pinellas Marker Type: City Sponsored or placed by: Community Redevelopment Agency and the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History Website: Not listed

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