Naomi Law: Destruction and construction of the Galesburg Public Library

On Friday, May 9, 1958, I was a teenager in Galesburg.  My mother, Rosie, and I were at Ellis Jewelers at 219 E. Main Street. She was a salesclerk, and I was her occasional assistant. It gave us time together and a place where I learned a lot about our community. That night there was a “living history” lesson for everyone.

It was almost 7:30 P.M. Since it was early May, the weather was warm but wasn’t too hot.

There weren’t many shoppers downtown on that beautiful spring evening. I didn’t have a lot to do so my mother said that I could walk around outside. As I stepped out, I was immediately surrounded by a smell that reminded me of something burning.

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It was a sharp, acrid smell.  Back then it wasn’t unusual to smell leaves burning but this was different.

Then there was the sound of sirens and loud voices. Police cars and firetrucks were headed right past Main Street.

People were screaming and running.  I could hear them saying something about the library. Folks were yelling that our towering, impressive Carnegie Library was on fire. I couldn’t believe it.

Mom and I started running with everybody else. Everyone was moving in the same direction. We were heading toward the corner of Simmons and Cherry Streets.

That was the site of the statuesque Carnegie Library.  The building had been built in the early 1900s. It was made possible through a $50,000 donation from businessman Andrew Carnegie. Now it was on fire!

Even before we arrived at the site, we could see blazing flames and heavy smoke covering the sky. It looked like a horrible movie, but the smell and sounds made it all too real.

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Flames, smoke, and even debris were drifting above the trees. We reached the place where an even larger group of people stood.

We watched the fire moving as if it had a mind of its own. Galesburg police officers were holding the crowd back.   Firemen were trying their best to fight the hungry flames. The water pressure just wasn’t enough to stop or even slow them down.

The flames raged through the building and destroyed everything in its path. We could hear and even see the books and papers being devoured by the fire.

Firemen from Knoxville, Abingdon, and other communities joined the battle. But it was useless. The fire moved like a monster set on destruction. The flames reached out from the large second floor windows and snaked downward to the first floor.  On its destructive path, the powerful fire destroyed furniture, materials and books … reportedly over 200,000 books.

Miraculously, not one human life was lost, but many valuable artifacts were gone forever.  Throughout the night, we witnessed and mourned the loss of the Carnegie Library. By the next morning, only walls, glowing cinders, and ashes remained.

Following the destruction of the library, a temporary location was established. The community believed that the Carnegie would be soon replaced. That did not happen. It took several lifetimes before a new library would become a reality.

Some of us were there when the Carnegie burned. Now, we are witnessing construction of the new library. It took a state grant, Galesburg citizens, and country-wide support to make it happen.

Our children and future generations will enjoy a library in ways that we can’t even imagine. Existing and new patrons will create and learn through resources that the Carnegie librarians would neither have envisioned nor permitted.

Dear readers, people ask if we still need libraries. I respond with an enthusiastic “yes!”

Libraries and people are evolving. The future is beyond books and papers. Libraries are becoming a conglomeration of old and new data, skills, and techniques. Libraries have become havens for social, intellectual, emotional, and even physical development.

The new library will provide unique opportunities for research and study. Historians and gamers can collaborate on projects. Creative programming will appeal to the interests of teens, retirees, and families. The new facility encourages individual and group projects. It will include spaces, activities, and programs for everyone. I remember the old but look forward to the new.

Thank you to Emily DuGranrut, Galesburg Public Library Archivist, for checking the accuracy of my recollections and projections. This is another reason to appreciate a library. It serves as a resource.

Communities have visions. The library being constructed at 264 W. Main St. is full of promise. Collectively and collaboratively, Galesburg is building a library that recalls the past and embraces the future. See you at the 2024 opening celebrations!

Naomi Law was an educator and administrator in Joliet and Oak Park, IL. She is the author of “The Adventures of Orie the Orpheum Mouse” and serves as a community volunteer.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Naomi Law: Destruction and construction of Galesburg Public Library