Carnegie Library
Organization, E.000028
- Lifetime
- August 20 1906
- Biography / History
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In March 1901, Zelie Passavant Emerson, a personal acquaintance of Andrew Carnegie, wrote to Andrew Carnegie's secretary about Jackson's need for a new library building to better serve the growing population.
On March 18, 1901, Mrs. Emerson presented a letter to the Jackson Common Council, offering a donation of $70,000 (the second largest sum ever offered to a Michigan city) to build a new library on the condition that the city provides a suitable site and guarantees $7,000 a year for its upkeep.
Jackson mayor Frank E. Palmer appointed a Carnegie Library Committee to make the necessary arrangements to meet the conditions of Mr. Carnegie's gift. The site chosen for the future library ran from West Main Street (now W. Michigan Avenue) back to Pearl Street.
In May 1902, the Carnegie Library Committee of Jackson chose Milwaukee architects Ferry and Clas to submit plans for the new library, and the building project was given to local contractor Charles A. Howind in June 1903, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
The library opened for the first time on August 20, 1906, to a crowd of hundreds.
- Related Collections
- Images of Jackson County Libraries
- Jackson Library Records
- Related Place
- City of Jackson (built)
Related Objects
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