Like all of the libraries in the Yavapai County Library District, the Prescott Public Library is not specifically charged to keep and display historically significant artifacts. However, it does happen that, in the course of time, such objects accrue to libraries, and when they are put on display, these objects both decorate libraries and edify library patrons. Those found in the Prescott Public Library are listed below.
History of the Prescott Public Library
The first Anglo settlers came to Prescott in search of valuable metals and minerals, and others followed shortly to protect and provision the prospectors and miners. Almost simultaneously, the US government decided to situate the first Arizona Territorial capital in Prescott, and the rest is, of course, history.
Over time, several Reading Rooms/Libraries, were established in Prescott, some say as a way to counter the wild and wooly tendencies of local residents. The first library is alleged to have been connected with the decision to make Prescott the Territorial capital. The first appointed Governor, Gurley, who actually died before the official party set out for Arizona, had selected books for a library in the Territory. Although Gurley never made it to Prescott, the books, numbering about 300, did.
As was often the case in the settling of the American West, the women of the community were perceived of as being dedicated to civilizing and uplifting the local citizenry. Two of these active women in Prescott, Mrs. Mary Leib and Mrs. Harriet Turner, expanded the Gurley book collection, which went to Tucson and then back to Prescott following the capital as it sashayed there and back.
As that library moved from place to place, other "libraries," and "reading rooms," came and went in this frontier town. Locals supported these institutions through individual borrowing fees and regular subscriptions. In 1870 a group of ladies gathered over 260 books and had 50 area newspapers available in a downtown reading room. This project collapsed, but another group, the Prescott Library Association, moved an old school house to a lot on Cortez Street and, according to a February 2, 1877 newspaper article, fitted it up as reading room and library. The paper boasted that this library would "soon be something for Prescott to be proud of and afford people a comfortable place to pass their evenings where their minds may be improved as well as entertained." This project, however, also fell by the wayside.
A more permanent project was begun in 1895-96, when local women started the movement that directly preceded the establishment of an official "Public Library" in Prescott. The women, who were members of the Monday Club, collected books, secured a location, and worked hard to raise money to expand both their collection and their space. By 1897 they had accumulated 556 volumes, according to a local newspaper story.
An October 24, 1899 newspaper article told about an open house the library ladies held "on Saturday afternoon and their rooms were crowded with visiting ladies and a slight sprinkling of men." The ladies served refreshments, which were, as newspapers always described the refreshments of ladies ñ "dainty."
Two women, Mrs. E. G. Gage and Julia [Mrs. Henry] Goldwater, were particularly noteworthy in the metamorphosis that would transform the local library. Although reading rooms were free to the public, most lending libraries were forced to charge borrowers a fee for taking out books. Hoping to change that, Mrs. Goldwater contacted philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to ask for funds to build a new "free" library. Intrigued, he directed his secretary to respond, telling Mrs. Goldwater that he would offer $4,000 toward a library if the town could raise an equal amount of money.
An ironic twist of fate gave the project a boost. The Whiskey Row fire of 1900 destroyed the building that housed the women's book collection, but with the $1800 they received from their insurance company, they were able to improve their holdings.
By 1903, locals had met Mr. Carnegie's challenge, and bids for the new library building went out. Maxwell & Sons contracted for $8252 to construct the stately building at Gurley and Marina, where it still stands. Since Arizona was a territory in 1903, this was considered to have been the first Carnegie Library built outside the United States. (Tucson and Oklahoma City, however, also got Carnegie libraries in 1903.)
The Prescott library was incorporated in 1916 and served not only the city, but the county as well. For years, the Prescott Public Library acted as a hub for libraries in surrounding towns, and it offered a Bookmobile that traveled throughout the County to places like the Skull Valley Store, Oak Creek School, Blue Hills Farms, Montezuma Castle, Chino Double G Hardware, and the JWK Ranch.
By the 1960s, it was clear that the Prescott Public Library had outgrown its quaint surroundings. The organization, Friends of the Library, formed in 1969 and began another round of fundraisers. Supplementing individual and corporate contributions with government funding, library planners moved into the construction phase in 1974.
The present structure was dedicated in 1975. Mrs. Elisabeth Ruffner, Chairman of the Library Advisory Board, provided the welcoming address, Father Al Connors of Sacred Heart Church gave the benediction, and Geraldine (Jerri) E. Wagner, the mayor, was in attendance.
The library is a beehive of activity. If there were such a thing as a time warp, a dignified old miner who spent endless hours in one of the first "reading rooms" in Prescott might feel right at home if he were to walk into the present library in Prescott. There are children playing chess, and young, middle aged and elderly people browsing through newspapers and pouring over classical literature and tomes full of scientific and technical information. He might be surprised and a bit uneasy, however, to see these same folks walk up to strange contraptions with very linear-looking typewriter keyboards (with no paper!) placed near oddly shaped boxes that light up on one side. If he were to look more closely, he would see words on these glowing contraptions, and he would be confused. However, if he were like many residents in Prescott, he would ask for assistance and quickly learn to use one of the odd apparatuses to find out which materials are available in the library and where he could locate them! And then, much to his amazement, the assistant would also tell him he could use a similar machine to correspond with a friend in Nevada to see what the prospects were there. After he got over the shock, the old fellow would realize that, despite the addition of newfangled devices, the library is still "something for Prescott to be proud of," and he could see that today, as before, the library affords "people a comfortable place to pass their evenings where their minds may be improved as well as entertained."
If visitors look around, they will also see a number of historically significant artifacts.
ARTIFACTS
Art:
Drawing, Garcia: two black and white drawings with Indian themes, approximately 8"x10"
Map, framed, 1878 Arizona Territory map, Military Divisions, presented by Miss Jo Osterman
Mural, Antonia Cocilovo, 1993, large, full-wall, exterior mural in parking lot area
Mural, James McShea, "alphabet" mural in stairwell, 1994
Page Proofs, Diane Iverson, My Favorite Tree, two framed sets of page proofs
Painting, Gary Bartlett, Navajo on horseback and Covered Wagon, approximately 2' x 3'
Painting, Kate Cory, (2 paintings): Group of Hopi; Seated Indian, approximately 18"x24"
Painting, Katalin Ehling, "Olla Maidens," small
Painting, Elms: Southwestern Indian themes (4 framed paintings, approximately 18" x 18")
Painting, Farrar: team roping, approximately 2' x 2'
Painting, Sally Feese, Jerome scene, donated by the artist, approximately 2' x 2'
Painting, Evelyn Haines, Southwestern landscape, approximately 18" x 24"
Painting, Holt: landscape, medium sized
Painting, Doreen Jackson, "Viola Jilmulla," medium size
Painting, Eldona LaCicero, "Hillside Station," oil on canvas, approximately 18" x 24"
Painting, M. Lehman, "Crow War Ponys [sic]", 1977, approximately 1.5" x 12"
Painting, Mira, "Galleon Bay," approximately 12" x 18"; "Moon on the Mountain," approximately 2' x 3', from Art West Collection
Painting of Christopher Liam Sinon, 1958-62, "In Memoriam,"
Painting, Olaf Palm, boy seated at table reading, 1981, medium sized
Painting, D. J. Pergamo, lake setting, medium size, 1964
Painting, George Phippen, "The Walker Party," presented by the Rummel Family, approx. 2' x 3'
Painting, Jim Prindville, Walpi Hopi Village scene, watercolor, about 2' x 2'
Painting, John Ransome, John: abstract ghost town building, approximately 2' x 3' and abstract landscape, approximately 2'x3'
Painting, Peggy Schuler, Santa Fe Station, Prescott, oil, approximately 2' x 2'
Painting, Stanley: 20 Mule Team, 10-73, approximately 2'x 4'
Painting, Linnie Thomas, "Route 680," approximately 2'x 3'
Painting, Torgerson: small, male Indian face
Painting, Julie Trushell, two large paintings with characters from children's stories and poems
Painting, Tumaros: rider in Southwestern landscape, approximately 2' x 3'
Painting, Susie Webb, "Aspen Creek," 1990
Photograph, Dick Carter, framed collection of photos of Courthouse and Plaza, large black and white photos accompanied by small color prints (1956)
Photograph, of Amos Francis Bumpus, Prescott Resident, 1926-1965
Photograph, of Jerri Wagner, Arizona's first female elected as mayor: Mayor of Prescott, 1975-77
Photograph, of William Hickling Prescott
Pot, made by Maria the Potter (San Ildefonso), about 5" high
Print, Ted DeGrazia, signed, numbered prints, 1973 (2)
Print, Fred Lucas, signed and numbered prints (2) of Grand Canyon, approximately 2' x 2.5'
Sand painting, small (2)
Sculpture, wood, Anthony Eck, Moon over Forest Lake
Sketch, Trautchen: 2 separate sketches, Apache Indian, Hopi man (1972)
Time Line, world history, Fran and Tommie Wildman, along with various local volunteers: timeline is in concrete (sidewalk) in front of the Prescott Public Library, begun 1975, updated 1985, refurbished regularly
Wall Hanging, textile, Jean Gibbons, made in connection with the 1975 fundraiser, with the names of donors who contributed $100 or more to the library building campaign embroidered around the edge of the central picture
Fragment
Berlin Wall fragment, "A Piece of Freedom," June, 1990, mounted on plaque, 12" x 12"
Art, Native American
Kachina, various, donated Gardner Single and Ed Long (16)
