Oskaloosa Public Library is a facility located in Oskaloosa,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, United States. Construction of the library was launched in 1902 with a grant from the

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

. The building was added to 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 1991.

History

Establishment

The community of Oskaloosa, county seat of the county seat of

Mahaska County, Iowa Mahaska County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,190. The county seat is Oskaloosa. Mahaska County comprises the Oskaloosa, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Mahaska County ...

, established a public library board shortly after the turn of the 20th Century and passed a local tax for operation of such a facility. Application was made to philanthropist

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 ...

and the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

for funds for building construction. The application for a grant for $22,000 was accepted on March 14, 1902. A centrally located site on South Market Street, measuring 120 feet square, was acquired for the facility in May. The building was designed by

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

architect Frank E. Wetherell, an Oskaloosa native. It was the first major public commission he received. John Gier was the contractor. The building is a two-story brick structure in the Neoclassical style built on a raised basement. The main entrance is surrounded by a classical

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

. It was dedicated on September 7, 1903. The library was established with a collection of 5,000 volumes and its operation funded by a tax of one-tenth cent per dollar on all property in the city."Oskaloosa's New Library,"
''Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican,'' vol. 29, no. 211 (Sept. 8, 1903), p. 2. An additional grant of $2,000 was made by Carnegie in 1905, with proceeds used to finish the second story of the building."To Finish Fine Library,"
''Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican,'' vol. 31, no. 212 (Oct. 4, 1905), p. 8. As a condition of this additional grant, the Oskaloosa City Council pledged to support the facility with a sum of at least $2,200 per year, ten percent of the two Carnegie capital grants. This pledge through city ordinance did not increase the cost to the town's taxpayers as more than $2,200 per year was already being spent on operation of the facility.

Historical registry

The building was listed on the

in 1991. A 1997 addition enlarged the facility.

Footnotes

{{authority control Library buildings completed in 1903 Oskaloosa, Iowa Public libraries in Iowa Carnegie libraries in Iowa Buildings and structures in Mahaska County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Mahaska County, Iowa Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Neoclassical architecture in Iowa