Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 061-4 - October 2007 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 6 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2014-03-12 08:47:48 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:03 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:03

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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Nevada City’s Libraries: Part 2: 1904 to 2007 By Maria Brower Andrew Carnegie, the Steel (and Library) King -o A NDREW CARNEGIE OFTEN WAS REFERRED TO AS the “Patron Saint of Libraries.” He had made it possible to build new libraries around the world through his generous gifts. Very few towns that requested funds and agreed to his terms were refused. He donated over 56 million dollars for the construction of 2,509 library buildings throughout the English-speaking word. More than half that amount was given for erection of 1,679 public library buildings in 1,412 communities in the United States. On January 29, 1904, it was reported in the Grass Valley Daily Morning Union that Nevada City was to have a Carnegie Library building. The Library committee of the Ladies Shakespeare Club had received a communication from Mr. Carnegie’s secretary that said $12,500 would be awarded to the city, with a proviso that the amount could be increased to $15,000 if necessary, to purchase a lot and erect a building. Part of the agreement stipulated that existing library property had to be disposed of by April 15th, and the proceeds used to furnish the new building. Strangely enough, the Nevada City newspaper, the Daily Transcript, reported on the same day > that the Trustees of the Library Association had received no such news, and even attributed the story to a joker spinning a yar. The next day, January 30, the Union insisted that their reporting was correct, adding that money for the proposed library would be forthcoming within three months, and Mr. Carnegie had asked for additional information about Nevada Andrew Carnegie, the Steel and Library King. Nevada County Historical Society ' Bulletin VOLUME 61 NUMBER 4 OCTOBER 2007 r City. The Union claimed their information came from a most reliable source, and said they would be proven correct. According to the Grass Valley paper, Judge Nilon, President of the Nevada City Library Board, would be forwarding the desired information within the week to Mr. Carnegie. Both he and Nevada City Mayor Chapman had communicated by telephone to the Union, it was asserted, but they were not in a position to confirm the information at this time. On February 27th the Zranscript announced that the Nevada City Free Library Association had received confirmation that Andrew Carnegie would donate $10,000 for a library in Nevada City if the city would donate a suitable lot. There were many state and local citizens and community leaders who had worked hard and faithfully towards this outcome. Superior Court Judge F. T. Nilon, Governor George C. Pardee, the Reverend Joseph H. Wythe, and other enterprising citizens, had worked for over two year to achieve this goal. Rev. Wythe, who had aided other cities in receiving recognition, offered his services to Nevada City, and he had solicited Governor Pardee for support. The governor agreed to write a “strong” letter to Mr. Carnegie, extolling the merits of Nevada City and urging the donation. The Grass Valley Union confirmed the good news of Andrew Carnegie’s gift, and reminded readers that it had scooped the Transcript by nearly a month. Additional details were revealed at this time, including information that, in addition to providing a site, the city trustees would have to appropriate not less than $1,000 per year for maintenance of the library after it was built. Other stipulations were that the site and the plans and specifications for the building would have to be approved by Mr. Carnegie. James Bertran, Mr. Carnegie’s secretary, wrote: “Mr. Carnegie is always liberal in his benefactions, and if it is ascertained that the sum proves inadequate for the proposed library he will undoubtedly increase the donation as necessary.” The library trustees met the next night to accept the proposition and sent a letter to assure Mr. Carnegie they would meet the provisions and thanked him for his generosity. The trustees said steps would be taken immediately to locate and secure a site that would acceptable for the library. At this point the people of the community were asked to help the trustees find an appropriate site, and asked that there 1