List of Carnegie libraries in Texas

The following list of Carnegie libraries in Texas provides detailed information on United States Carnegie libraries in Texas, where 32 public libraries were built from 30 grants (totaling $649,500) awarded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1898 to 1915. In addition, an academic library was built at Wiley University in Marshall from a $15,000 grant awarded March 26, 1906.

Today 13 of these buildings survive, with 10 listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They were often designed by the leading Texas architects of the day. For example, the now-demolished main libraries in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio were works by James Riely Gordon, the master architect of county courthouses.

## Key

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Building still operating as a library
Building standing, but now serving another purpose
Building no longer standing
Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places

## Public libraries

[edit]

| Library  | City or
town  | Image  | Date
granted[1] | Grant
amount[1] | Location  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Abilene  | Abilene |  | Mar 9, 1907 | $17,500  |  | Building demolished in 1958
2 | Ballinger  | Ballinger |  | Feb 10, 1908 | $17,500  | 204 N 8th St  | Still a public library
3 | Belton  | Belton |  | Feb 2, 1903 | $10,000  | 201 N Main St  | Now the Bell County Museum
4 | Brownwood  | Brownwood |  | Mar 27, 1903 | $15,000  |  | Building demolished in 1965
5 | Bryan  | Bryan |  | Apr 11, 1902 | $10,000  | 111 S Main St  | Now the Carnegie History Center
6 | Clarksville  | Clarksville |  | Sep 5, 1902 | $10,000  |  | Building destroyed by fire in 1980
7 | Cleburne | Cleburne |  | Apr 13, 1903 | $20,000  | 201 N Caddo St  | Now the Layland Museum
8 | Corsicana  | Corsicana |  | Mar 16, 1904 | $25,000  |  | Building demolished in 1967
9 | Dallas Main  | Dallas |  | Aug 23, 1899 | $76,000  | Commerce & Harwood Streets  | Building demolished in 1954
10 | Dallas Branch  | Dallas |  | Aug 23, 1899 | —  |  | Building demolished
11 | El Paso | El Paso |  | Jan 9, 1902 | $37,500  |  | Building demolished in 1968
12 | Fort Worth  | Fort Worth |  | Jun 30, 1899 | $50,000  | W 9th St and Throckmorton St  | Building demolished in 1937
13 | Franklin | Franklin |  | Apr 2, 1913 | $7,500  | 315 E Decherd  | Now the Robertson County Public Library
14 | Gainesville  | Gainesville |  | Apr 3, 1912 | $15,000  | 201 S Denton St  | Now the Butterfield Stage
15 | Greenville  | Greenville |  | Apr 13, 1903 | $15,000  |  | Building demolished in 1953
16 | Houston Main  | Houston |  | Oct 28, 1899 | $65,000  |  | Building demolished
17 | Houston Segregated  | Houston |  | Oct 28, 1899 | $15,000  | Frederick St. and Robin St. (later replatted, the area is now Two Allen Center)  | Building demolished in 1970s
18 | Jefferson | Jefferson |  | May 15, 1906 | $10,000  | 301 W Lafayette  | Still the Jefferson Carnegie Library
19 | Memphis  | Memphis |  | Jan 27, 1912 | $10,000  |  | Building demolished in mid-1980s
20 | Palestine  | Palestine |  | Sep 27, 1912 | $15,000  | 502 N Queen St  | After a 38-year hiatus, it will resume service as the Palestine Public Library in June 2023
21 | Pecos  | Pecos |  | Jun 25, 1911 | $9,000  |  | Building demolished in early 1960s
22 | Pittsburg  | Pittsburg |  | Apr 30, 1898 | $5,000  |  | The eighth library in the US to be commissioned by Carnegie and only the second outside of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Building destroyed by fire in 1939
23 | San Antonio  | San Antonio |  | Jan 6, 1900 | $70,000  |  | Building demolished
24 | Sherman  | Sherman |  | Apr 3, 1912 | $20,000  | 301 S Walnut  | Now The Sherman Museum
25 | Stamford  | Stamford |  | Jun 29, 1908 | $15,000  | 600 E McHarg St  | Still the Stamford Carnegie Library
26 | Sulphur Springs  | Sulphur Springs |  | Apr 10, 1909 | $12,000  | 100 Jefferson St W  | Now Alliance Bank
27 | Temple  | Temple |  | Jan 22, 1902 | $15,000  |  | Building destroyed by fire in 1918
28 | Terrell  | Terrell |  | Feb 20, 1903 | $10,000  | 207 N Frances St  | Now the Terrell Heritage Museum
29 | Tyler | Tyler |  | Mar 20, 1903 | $15,000  | 125 S College St  | Now the Smith County History Center
30 | Vernon  | Vernon |  | Apr 19, 1915 | $12,500  |  | Building demolished in late 1970s
31 | Waco  | Waco |  | Apr 28, 1902 | $30,000  |  | Building demolished
32 | Winnsboro  | Winnsboro |  | Apr 6, 1908 | $10,000  |  | Building demolished in 1967

## Academic library

[edit]

| Institution  | Locality  | Image  | Date
granted  | Grant
amount  | Location  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Wiley University | Marshall |  | Mar 26, 1906 | $15,000  | 711 Wiley Ave.  | Now the Willis J. King Administration Building

## Notes

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1. ^ a b At various times, Bobinski and Jones disagree on these numbers. In these cases, Jones' numbers have been used due to both a more recent publication date and a more detailed gazetteer of branch libraries, which are often where the discrepancies occur.

## References

[edit]

* Anderson, Florence (1963). Carnegie Corporation Library Program 1911–1961. New York: Carnegie Corporation. OCLC 1282382.
* Bobinski, George S. (1969). Carnegie Libraries: Their History and Impact on American Public Library Development. Chicago: American Library Association. ISBN 0-8389-0022-4.
* Jones, Theodore (1997). Carnegie Libraries Across America. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-14422-3.
* Miller, Durand R. (1943). Carnegie Grants for Library Buildings, 1890-1917. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York. OCLC 2603611.

Note: The above references, while all authoritative, are not entirely mutually consistent. Some details of this list may have been drawn from one of the references without support from the others. Reader discretion is advised.

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U.S. Carnegie libraries by state

State|

* Alabama
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Federal district|

* Washington, D.C.

Other|

* Puerto Rico

* Other Carnegie libraries:
* Africa
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