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  Table of Contents about Andrew Carnegie About Allen Gardiner, author of The Carnegie Legacy in Kansas Further information about Libraries featured in this book Carnegie Legacy in Kansas logo: Link that takes you to the home page  

FORT SCOTT

EARLY LIBRARY HISTORY
 
The idea of a library for Fort Scott was conceived by the Hon. Eugene F. Ware in 1869 when the land value boom was broken and there were a large number of foreclosures of mortgages, as well as a great many pieces of abandoned property. Ware reckoned that the abandoned property, if held in trust, would furnish a good fund for establishing a public library once good prices for land returned. The scheme worked and thus the public library was founded. Hon. George Opdyke, a multi- millionaire and an ex-mayor of New York, and the Hon. H. H. Hunnewell, of Boston, another entrepreneur, agreed to Ware's scheme and gave up some of their worthless property for the library project. The library got underway in 1883. Col. Calvin Huntington, uncle of Mrs. Ware, gave $500.00 for an art library.
 
Carnegie Library: Fort Scott, Kansas

 
For all his struggles to establish a library and keep it going, Ware received little praise. In 1914, in a statement published by Judge C. E. Cory to remove any public speculation that Ware had personally profitted from the library scheme, Cory wrote:
 
After the years of struggle and coaxing to get the taxes abated and to get the city to accept the library, [Ware] finally became weary of the contest and asked the district court, the custodian of the trust funds, to relieve him of the trust and close it out. He became tired of an unequal fight against an unappreciative public.
 
In the midst of the court case, W. P. Dillard stepped in and circulated a petition which called for an election to establish a library. The election was held April 3, 1894, and carried. All property was turned over to the new board of directors.
 
THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY
 
On March 14, 1901, Andrew Carnegie offered $15,000.00 for a library building (an amount later raised to $18,000.00). The names of the architect and contractor have been lost. A site at Second and National was chosen for the library. The cornerstone was laid in 1904; the library was opened in February, 1904.
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING
 
The building, designed in the Beaux Arts tradition, is rectangular, a two-story structure of red brick above a raised basement. The building is unusual in that the main entryway is found on the gable end rather than on the long side. The gable end of the building has three bays while the side facade sports five bays. Arched windows flank the arched doorway of the facade. The main doorway surround is defined by limestone blocks. The window surrounds are defined by limestone lintels and recessed brick paneling. The corner design is of limestone quoins that cut back and forth and filled in with brick, an Eclectic approach. There are three semi-circular dormer windows which pierce the roof on the side of the building and are centrally located; Six