Lexington Public Library

The Lexington Public Library opened in its Carnegie building location in Gratz Park in June of 1905, after having received a grant of $50,000 in January, 1902. Materials in this collection contain items that were sealed in the cornerstone of the Carnegie Library on June 8, 1903. The contents were removed April 17, 1989 after the library had moved to its new location at 140 E. Main Street.

The pamphlet contains information tracing the history of the Lexington Library from its beginning to roughly 1902.

The pamphlet itself is not dated, but it is believed to have been written in response to the request of a library board member in November, 1901; Lexington was one of the considered sites for a Carnegie library at the time, and did receive a $50,000 grant in 1902 for the construction of the eventual Gratz Park library building location. The article was published in an issue of the library’s bulletin, date unknown, and then reproduced in the Lexington Herald on January 19, 1902. A copy of the pamphlet was also included in the Carnegie building’s cornerstone, which was buried on June 8, 1903 and opened April 17, 1989.

Mary Katherine Bullitt was appointed the librarian for the Lexington Library from 1898 until her death in 1911. During her time, she oversaw the transition of Lexington from a subscription library to a public library in 1899, and then from the old Methodist Church building to 1905, when the Carnegie building opened.