Carnegie Historical Museum

The Carnegie Historical Museum is one of the oldest museums in Iowa. Established in 1876, it houses a number of impressive collections including Civil War artifacts, Native American artifacts, Parson College memorabilia, pharmaceutical products and packaging of a local pharmacy, World War II posters, pioneer tools and equipment, a Smithsonian taxidermy collection of local birds, and items from local industries. The museum also houses a collection of Roman antiquities acquired by Colonel S.H.M. Byers, who served as Consul General in Rome, Italy from 1884-1885. The museum is located on the third floor of the former Fairfield Library building, which was built in 1892 and the first library west of the Mississippi River built using funds donated by philanthropist and industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The first two floors of the building house Indian Hills Community College.

The library's history dates back to 1853 when a group of local men founded a library association. The library was housed in a number locations before the present building was constructed in 1892. The effort to build it was led by U.S. Senator James Falconer Wilson, who was from Fairfield. Wilson knew Carnegie and asked him to donate the funds for the project. Carnegie agreed to grant the city $40,000. The library served as the funding model for subsequent libraries Carnegie helped build around the world. Two years after the Fairfield Library was built, there were 46 public libraries west of the Mississippi River and around 400 in the country.

The Fairfield Library opened to great fanfare and became an important architectural landmark and educational center for the community. An excellent example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, it features decorative brickwork and a large arched main entrance opening. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

"Carnegie Historical Museum - Since 1876." Jefferson County Heritage. Accessed November 23, 2021. https://jeffersoncountyheritage.org/carnegie-museum.

Klingensmith, S. "Fairfield Public Library." Iowa Site Inventory - Iowa State Historical Department. August 1980. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/83000373_text.