For decades, a central feature of over a hundred Illinois communities was the Carnegie Library, the gift of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie around the turn of the 20th century. Though declining in number, dozens still exist today, including many in this area.

Some 106 Carnegie public libraries were constructed in Illinois, trailing only Indiana and California. Several communities in the area were the beneficiaries and are still using their libraries today, over a century later.

Though he is lambasted today for his harsh treatment of workers and his unyielding lust for money and power, Carnegie, a native Scotsman, is also remembered for his interest in library buildings.

Some 1,412 communities nationwide used Carnegie funds to build libraries between 1889-1923, and 108 academic library buildings were also constructed with Carnegie donations, though they are usually mispronounced today. Commonly called “CAR-neg-ee,” the actual pronunciation is “car-NEGG-ee.”

In all, Carnegie spent over $56.1 million to erect 2,509 library buildings in English-speaking countries. Applicants normally wrote to Carnegie through his secretary, James Bertram, who frequently criticized and sometimes redesigned plans for proposed libraries. Many applications received less funding than they hoped for.

Carnegie’s donations also came with other caveats. The community was required to provide suitable land and formally agree to support the library with local taxation. As he did in other charitable endeavors, Carnegie was more inclined to “help those who helped themselves.”

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In Plano, a Carnegie library at 15 W. North St. was approved for funding in December 1904 with a grant of $10,250. The first librarian was Maude Applegate Cook Henning, a 34-year-old Northwestern University graduate who was affectionately known as “Aunt Maude” to hundreds of young patrons until her retirement in 1951. The renovated building in Plano is still in use.

In Geneva, a Carnegie library at 127 James St. was largely paid for with a $7,500 grant in January 1907. Bids for the building were more than the grant, but Carnegie repeatedly declined, causing hard feelings between the city and Carnegie.

The building underwent additions in 1938, 1986 and 1998, and served the community for over 111 years until the library moved into a new facility in 2019.

The home of the Sheffield Public Library is still in a Carnegie building at 136 E. Cook St. that was paid for by a $4,000 grant approved in May 1911. The building features many of the classic designs that Carnegies are known for, including high ceilings and windows, as well as striking wooden beams. The exterior brick was from a local clay products plant.

The Sycamore Public Library at 103 E. State St. was designed by Paul O. Moratz, a Bloomington architect who is credited with at least 27 Carnegie libraries in his career. The Sycamore library, which was constructed of Lake Superior red sandstone, was funded with $12,000 in Carnegie grants and opened in November 1905.

In Polo, a Carnegie building at 302 W. Mason St. that was funded mostly with a $10,000 grant in April 1903, remains in use. It was designed by the Chicago firm of Patton and Miller, which is credited with over 100 Carnegie libraries nationwide.

The library opened in September 1904 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 1995, one of several Carnegies in the area to receive that honor.

Patton and Miller also designed the Streator Public Library, which is still in use at 130 S. Park St. and is also on the National Register. The Carnegie building in Streator opened on Jan. 31, 1903, and is defined by its interior, two-story rotunda, with columns on the first story and murals of Shakespeare, Longfellow, and Socrates on the second story.

Several Carnegies are along the Illinois River towns, including in LaSalle, where a Carnegie library at 305 Marquette St. opened on Jan. 19, 1907, with funding from two gifts totaling $25,000. The Italian Renaissance building features a sweeping, stained-glass dome in the lobby, along with a decorative skylight.

In Peru, a Carnegie library on Putnam Street was funded with a $15,000 grant approved in April 1910. The building opened in the fall of 1911 and was used until April 1986, when a new facility was constructed.

To the north, Moratz designed the public library Mendota at 901 Washington St., which was used until a new facility opened in January 1994. The old library, which is now a museum, was paid for with a $10,000 Carnegie grant approved in February 1904. That grant was celebrated in a local newspaper headline that blared “Much Rejoicing in Mendota.”

In Marseilles, a library at 155 E. Bluff St. was built with a $10,000 gift from Carnegie that was approved in June 1904. The library was dedicated on Nov. 23, 1905, and underwent an expansion in 1938.

A Carnegie grant of $15,000 in January 1912 was the basis for the construction of the Spring Valley Public Library at 215 E. Cleveland St. As he was known to do, Bertram sharply criticized the original design for the library, which he deemed “impossible” and “drawn by an architect having no experience of library buildings.” The building was completed in late 1912 and was greatly expanded with massive additions that opened in June 2004.

The Streator library received a $35,000 grant, an unusually large grant from Carnegie, in February 1901. One history reports that the large gift was because a local opera house owner, Ralph Plumb, was a friend of Carnegie.

The Schmaling Memorial Library in Fulton is also still in a Carnegie structure, funded with a $5,000 gift in December 1908. The library, at 501 Tenth Ave., opened on Oct. 27, 1909.

In Oregon, the design of the Carnegie library at 300 Jefferson St. reflects the famed local Eagle’s Nest Art Colony of Illinois sculptor Lorado Taft, of which the architects, Pond and Pond of Chicago, were members. The art gallery on the second floor is among the outstanding features of the library, which was largely paid for with a $10,000 grant approved in April 1905.

Opened in June 1909, the Oregon library is also on the National Register.

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Barbara Love, the retired director of the Kewanee Public Library, a strikingly beautiful Carnegie facility designed by Patton and Miller in northwestern Illinois, notes the special needs of housing a library in such older surroundings.

“Carnegie libraries were built in a much different way than libraries of today,” said Love, who worked in four Carnegie libraries in her career. “They have high ceilings and aren’t as energy-efficient as new buildings. As a result, you really have to look for little ways to increase your energy efficiency.”

Many smaller Carnegie libraries also have floor plans that are best described as “chopped-up,” a contrast to the open floor design that dominates most newer libraries today. Space is also a severe issue in the Carnegies today, as libraries struggle to keep up with growing collections, increasing technology, and a demand for public meeting areas.

In 1991, some 83 communities in Illinois were still using Carnegie libraries, a number that has since dropped by over 20 with the advent of new buildings. The Carnegie library in Farmington, where Love worked before moving to Kewanee, was replaced after 107 years with a beautiful new facility on the east edge of town in 2014.

Sadly, some Carnegie libraries meet a less glorious end. The Carnegie facility in Galesburg, which opened in 1902, was wiped out in a fire on May 9, 1958, that ranks among the worst library disasters in state history. A new library was dedicated on the same site in November 1961.

Though some are being phased out, there is plenty of sentimental attachment to the old Carnegie libraries. “It is a very hard decision to leave a Carnegie library,” said Love. “There’s nothing easy about it. But in many cases, it’s less expensive to build a new building than it is to renovate the older one.”

In Morris, the Carnegie library at 604 Liberty St. was demolished in 1969, but not without regret. That library’s director wrote in 1982 that “to this day there are many residents angry about its demolition.”

Similar sentiments still linger in Decatur, where a 2015 account noted that the demolition of the Carnegie library in 1972 “is still a sore subject for many.”

Others fondly recall the memories of the library staff in the Carnegies. In Farmington, Miss Minta Schoonover became the head librarian in 1917 at age 48 and remained in the position for 50 years, retiring at the age of 98. She was then a regular patron until her death at 106.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.