Chadron Public Library

The Chadron Public Library is representative of a very important era in Chadron, Nebraska. Led by three-term progressive Mayor James W. Finnegan (1906-1912), businessman Ben Loewenthal, and Congregational minister G. W. Mitchell, the city enjoyed unprecedented public sector growth. The state-financed Chadron Normal School (Chadron State College), a federal post office and courthouse, the Carnegie-funded Chadron Public Library, city-financed West Ward School (non-extant), and the church-sponsored Assumption Academy were all constructed in this period and gave Chadron an air of permanence, stability, and culture.  

The Chadron Public Library originally opened in April 1889, just three years after the town itself was founded. The organizers were a physician, a female lawyer, and a businesswoman, the latter two being prominent and progressive suffragettes. The peripatetic collection of over four hundred volumes was housed wherever free quarters could be found and was financed from donations. In 1893, this precarious existence came to an end with the general collapse of the national economy. From 1894 to 1904, the Chadron library association was defunct. 

In 1904, the library was revived by public spirited citizens, and in 1907, Mayor James Finnegan, Councilman Ben Loewenthal, and library president G. W. Mitchell drew up a new library constitution calling for a publicly selected board. This was done with the professional advice of State Library Superintendent J. L. McBrien, who spoke to an overflow crowd at the city’s opera house. 

Mayor Finnegan and Councilman Loewenthal convinced the city council to provide permanent quarters for the library in City Hall. Recognizing the need for permanent public funding for the library, Finnegan induced the city council to pass a $1.5 million levy for the support of the library. The Mayor then pressed Andrew Carnegie for funds to construct a substantial library for the city. A request from Chadron in 1905 had been denied. Finnegan, in 1910, was able to point to the library’s annual budget of $500, and to the city’s general progress, including the new college. Carnegie awarded the city $5,000 for construction, which began next year in 1911. 

Charlotte Templeton, secretary of the Nebraska Library Commission, suggested that a professional architect be employed to design the building to meet Carnegie’s specification of “useful accommodation”. By happy coincidence, noted Lincoln architect George A. Berlinghof was in Chadron working on Chadron State’s “Old Main”. For $100, he produced a set of plans that must have made Carnegie feel very satisfied.  

The library was constructed by the Black Hills Company of Deadwood, South Dakota at a cost of $5,300. The $300 overrun was covered with funds raised by Finnegan and Loewenthal (Mitchell had moved to Neligh in 1910 when the Congregational Academy became Chadron Normal). There was no formal dedication when the library opened its doors for business on February 13, 1912. 

As the collections grew and the public began requesting the use of the unfinished basement for meetings, the library board submitted a second request to Carnegie for funds to complete the work. The 1915 request was denied, but in 1916 Carnegie awarded Chadron $788.00 if the City Council agreed to increase its support by $78.80 per annum. This was done, and that date also marks the end of Carnegie Corporation’s support for the Chadron Public Library. 

Chadron Public Library, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed December 31st 2020. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/73920308.

Chadron Public Library , Wikipedia. Accessed January 22nd 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadron_Public_Library.