Clark Memorial Library
Although the Clark Memorial Library, located at 45 North 9th St., Clarkdale, AZ 86324 (phone: 520-634-9760), is not a specified repository of historic artifacts, there are a number of items in the library that are significant in the history of Clarkdale and Yavapai County. In addition, Charlott Hawken, the library manager is collecting and building displays for other items that are related to the nature and functions of a library and, at the same time, are connected with the history of Clarkdale.
History of Clarkdale
Although the main portion of the history of Clarkdale is listed under the Clarkdale Heritage Conservancy, it is appropriate to mention here that the Clark Memorial Library was housed first in the Clark Memorial Clubhouse. We should note also that the present library is located in a structure that is part the original cluster of community buildings erected in the 1910s and 1920s.
History of the Clark Memorial Library
William Andrews Clark, the owner of United Verde, left a bequest in his will for a library to be constructed in the town he designed to house and enhance the lives of the people who worked for his company. Because the amount willed was not enough to cover the costs, the United Verde provided sufficient funds to assure that the project would be completed.
The Clark Memorial Library formally opened on October 18, 1927. It was located in the Community Clubhouse in the area by the open arch with a counter in front of it. There was also a long wooden table (which is still in the Clubhouse) with eight rather stately chairs for patrons to use while reading or studying.
The library moved to its present location in 1992. The building it occupies, once the Community Church (1921), was built by the United Verde for the use of its Methodist and Episcopalian employees.
Personnel have recently remodeled the building so that it better meets the needs of its patrons. Because it is part of the original complex of community buildings in Clarkdale, the library is in the process of creating a display of historic artifacts that are pertinent to libraries in general and to this library in particular.
ARTIFACTS
Structure:
Building
The Clark Memorial Library building; stone, 2 story, built as the Community Church in 1921, later used solely by the United Methodist congregation in Clarkdale; located in the administrative center of Clarkdale
Furniture
Bookcase, from the original library in Clarkdale Clubhouse
Cabinet, kitchen, now used for storage, from the kitchen of a company house in Clarkdale
Card catalog cabinet, from original Clarkdale Library, 6-drawer, dark brown wood
Card catalog cabinet, from original Clarkdale Library, 4 drawer dark brown wood
Chair, wooden, children's, origin uncertain (4)
Chair, children's, tiny, origin uncertain (2)
Table, small (top approximately 2' x 3'), wooden, one drawer, may be original library furniture
VIII. Communication Artifacts
Art:
Painting, framed water color, by William Schimmel, approximately 18" x 24", local landscape, no year indicated
Documentary Artifacts
Book, Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River by Alexander Ross, 1923 (old book display)
Book, American Notes by Rudyard Kipling, no date (old book display)
Book, An Outline Sketch of American Literature by Henry A. Beers, 1887 (old book display)
Book, Bibliophily or Booklove by James F. Willis, 1921 (old book display)
Book, Departmental Ditties, Ballads, Back-room Ballads, by Rudyard Kipling, no date (old book display)
Book, Essays on Work and Culture, 1898 (old book display)
Book, Green Mansions, A Romance of the Tropical Forest by W. H. Hudson, 1916 (old book display)
Book, Idylls of the King, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1901 (old book display)
Book, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer, 1917 (old book display)
Book, The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., by William M. Thackeray, 1900 (old book display)
Book, The Ideal Speaker for Young People: Gleanings from the Poets for Home and School Entertainments, 1905 (old book display)
Book, The Life of the Caterpillar by J. Henri Fabre, 1916 (old book display)
Book, The Moon of the Caribbees and six other plays of the sea by Eugene G. O'Neill, 1923 (old book display)
Book, The Purple Land, by W. H. Hudson, 1927, (old book display)
Book, The Rules of Card Games, 1926 ed. (old book display)
Book, The Second Book of Modern Verse, by Jessie B. Rittenhouse, 1919, (old book display)
Book, The Story of an African Farm, by Olive Schreiner, 1927, (old book display)
Book, Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith, 1908 (old book display)
Stamp, rubber, from Clark Memorial Library: "Not to be taken from this room" (by old book display)
Stamp, rubber, from Clark Memorial Library, "Presented to Clark Memorial Library by -___" (by old book display)
Stamp, rubber, from Clark Memorial Library: "Property of Clark Memorial Library" (by old book display)
Stamp, rubber, from Clark Memorial Library: "This material may be protected by Copyright law," (by old book display)
