The idea for the HENRYETTA PUBLIC
LIBRARY began in 1904 when an interested group of citizens, known as
the Bide-a-Wee Club, formed to improve the civic
life of the community. In 1905 it reorganized as the Library Club with
the sole purpose of establishing a public library. The library was soon
established in a little three-room building on the corner of Sixth and
Trudgeon, built by W.B. Hudson as a private high school run by Mrs.
Hudson. One dollar a year was charged for library cards and teachers
at the school shelved and circulated the books.
In 1910 the library came under the jurisdiction
of the city and appointed a library board consisting of Mrs. W.B. Hudson,
H.C. Fellows, J.W. Dorsey, H.G. Woodrow, and J.P. Fowler. In 1920 it
became a free public library supported by public funds and moved to
the Boy Scout building on Trudgeon Street.
The first building designed and built as a Public
Library building was built in 1924 at a cost of $8,095 on the northwest
corner of Sixth and Division Streets. It was a "butterfly plan," designed
by Raymond Kerr, architect, and Mrs. Francis Threadgill, Librarian.
The Library remained in the building until 1966.
When the United States Post Office planned a new
building on Fifth and Division, the City of Henryetta began making inquiries
and requests regarding the procurement of the building to use as a library.
In 1965, the Federal Government donated the building and land to the
City of Henryetta with the stipulation that it be used as an educational
facility for at least 20 years. The Librarian, Mrs. Grover Bynum, City
Manager, Richard Curry, and Earl Wells, along with representatives from
the Tulsa Library and the Oklahoma State Library began making plans
for renovation of the Post Office building. The committee submitted
a proposal to the State Library that was approved for a $7,000 matching
funds grant to pay for the renovations, furniture and new shelving.
Approximately 10 months of hard work and $14,000 brought the building
up to the standards set by the requirements of the grant. The library's
17,000 books were moved into the new facility in January of 1966 and
opened shortly thereafter. The Library celebrated National Library Week,
April 17-23, 1966, with a weeklong celebration.
The formal Grand Opening occurred on June 11 and
12, 1966, and included an art show in cooperation with the local Art
Association. Two retiring Library Board members, Earl Wells and James
Watzke, were honored at the June 12 open house celebration. Earl Wells
served on the Library Board from 1922 until 1966 and spearheaded the
renovations on the new library building. James Watzke served from 1937
to 1965. All other past and present Board members were also honored
at the open house.
The HENRYETTA PUBLIC LIBRARY is still located on
the northeast corner of Sixth and Main Streets in the old Post Office
building built in 1935. Many changes and additions have been made in
the 33 years since it moved to this location. In the 1980s the Friends
of the Library group raised money to replace the original windows with
new double paned, bronze reflective glass windows. In 1996, a donation
from Miss Kathryn Boerstler enabled the library to purchase aluminum
mini-blinds for all of the windows to cut down on the glare from the
afternoon sun and to prolong the life of the books on the shelves.
Our first computer to be available to the public
also joined the Library in 1996, along with access to the Internet,
the worldwide web. Gregory Rodriguez, former Henryetta citizen, initially
generated fund raising and community interest in computers in the library
and a computer was purchased with contributions from First Family Federal
Credit Union, First National Bank, and many, interested citizens. We
now have five computers available to the public. We have Internet access
via a T1 line as one of five public access sites for the Okmulgee County
Electronic Village (OCEV), a county wide coalition of business, industry,
and private and civic organizations, to provide electronic access to
our county. We are currently in the process of putting our card catalog
on computer; a project made possible by the generous donations and continued
support of American Exchange Bank. We will soon bid goodbye to our card
catalog and begin doing circulation and cataloging directly on the computer.
Written by Ruby Wesson
March 3, 1999
(updated June 6, 2002)
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