The Carnegie Branch Library at 13th St and 28th Ave in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

is one of two former Carnegie libraries in the city, both funded by a grant from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

in 1904. This library was built for blacks while the other was built for whites. The other library was built at 25th Ave and 7th St and now houses the

Meridian Museum of Art Meridian Museum of Art is an art museum located at 628 25th Avenue, Meridian, Mississippi. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and declared a Mississippi Landmark in 1985. The building originally served as ...

. Both buildings were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1979. The black library was demolished in 2008.

History

A group of women in the city had formed the Fortnightly Book and Magazine Club in the 1880s and began raising money to build a library for the city. The books they collected and shared within the club were later the basis of the library collection for Meridian. With wide support for the library, the club enlisted Israel Marks, a city leader, to approach the national

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

for funding assistance. Marks, who helped operate the Marks-Rothenberg Department Store next door to the Grand Opera House, was an acquaintance of Carnegie and convinced him to issue a $38,000 grant in 1904 to the city's government to build two Carnegie libraries — one for whites and one for

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

. The white library would receive $30,000 while the African American one would receive $8,000. It was asserted to be the only Carnegie library ever built for African Americans in the country, however twelve total Colored Carnegie Libraries were built. The 1905-built

Louisville Free Public Library, Western Colored Branch The Louisville Free Public Library's Western Branch or Western Library is a public library in Louisville, Kentucky. It is a Carnegie library and is the first public library built for African Americans staffed entirely by African Americans.It is n ...

was the first (Louisville would also get another, the Eastern Branch), and the rest were in Mounds Bayou, MS (opened 1910); Houston, TX; Savannah, GA; Evansville, IL; New Orleans, LA; Nashville, TN; Knoxville, TN; Atlanta, GA; and Greensboro, NC. The city used the money both to renovate the vacant building (formerly owned by the

First Presbyterian Church of Meridian First Presbyterian Church of Meridian is a historic church in Meridian, Mississippi, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The church was founded in 1856 by eight members including John T. Ball and Lewis A. Ragsdale, foun ...

) at 25th Ave and 7th St and transform it into the white library and to build the African American library at 13th St and 28th Ave on land donated by a local

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church.Meridian Star - I could write a book...
. An article on the history of Meridian's libraries. The two libraries served the city until 1967, when the institutions became integrated, combined their collections, and moved all materials to the new Meridian Public Library at 2517 7th St. The former white library was renovated and converted into the

in 1970, and the former African American library was demolished on May 28, 2008.

References

{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1913 Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Buildings and structures in Meridian, Mississippi Carnegie libraries in Mississippi 1913 establishments in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Lauderdale County, Mississippi