Franklin Carnegie Library
Franklin, Robertson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The city of Franklin housed a library of 1,000 volumes in its City Hall before 1913. In February that year, Franklin Mayor R. M. Cole (1848-1931) applied to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for funds to build a new library. The Carnegie Corporation approved plans and granted $7,500 to the project. This brick building with classical details and a pressed-metal roof resembling tiles was designed by an architect named Patterson and completed in 1914, though it served as a library only through 1918. School classes and public activities were held here through 1984. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Franklin kept a 1,000-volume library in its City Hall before Mayor R. M. Cole applied to the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1913 for a purpose-built home. A $7,500 grant funded this brick building with classical details and a pressed-metal tile roof, completed in 1914 by an architect named Patterson. Though it served as a library only through 1918, it hosted school classes and public activities into 1984.
Why it matters
One of thousands of Carnegie libraries that democratized reading across America, it brought a philanthropist's grand vision of free knowledge to small-town Texas.
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Related people
- · R. M. Cole
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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