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In the late 1960s, the Mifflin County Library was located at 35 South Brown Street, which was the corner of Brown and Water Streets. As I've mentioned before, the library was stuffed to the gills with books. Books were stacked everywhere, on tables, on the stairs, on the floor as well as on the tops of the shelves.
We were once again in need of a new building and the library board, as well as the director, Mrs. Stuckenrath and the commissioners were aware of the fact. I found an article dated June 14, 1968 discussing the problems the commissioners faced; not only with the library building but with several other county buildings. If you recall, when the Lewistown Library became the Mifflin County Library, the library for the whole county, not just Lewistown, the county took ownership of the building.
In 1968, the commissioners reviewed the need for repairs or a new structure for the library and eleven other county buildings, including Veterans Affairs Office, Probation Office, Agriculture Extension Office, District Attorney's Office and the County Superintendent of Schools which had been located on the upper level of Brown Street Library since 1955. The study of the buildings would be conducted over the next 10-15 years with the objective being "the best return from each dollar spent." According to this June 1968 article, the county was paying rent for the eleven buildings totaling $8,583 annually.
The Mifflin County Library was the foremost problem, however. The Redevelopment Authority wanted the library razed or leveled to make room for a parking area. The county would be reimbursed at fair market value for the property, with the Redevelopment Authority offering $51,960. The commissioners wanted $61,000. The library board wanted a new property that had 8,000 square feet; the present library on Brown Street having 2,800 square feet.
Another looming problem was the fact that in 1968, the "Old Courthouse" was still in use. This is the courthouse on Market Street, where the Mifflin County Historical Society is located now along with the Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Bureau. The main courtroom on the second floor was in need of improvements which were "long overdue," Judge Paul Lehman is quoted. The whole building needed work.
The commissioners decided to implement a long-range plan in two phases.
Phase 1 would include surface remodeling to the old courthouse (install air conditioning, plaster the walls, lay carpet, etc) in order to preserve the facility for future use.
Phase 2 would include either remodeling the courthouse or constructing a new courthouse. The goal of this phase would be to eliminate the outside rentals for county offices. The largest advantage to this plan would be the lowering of taxes since there would no longer be rent to pay.
The June 1968 article states that these two proposals (for a new library and a new courthouse) are a continuation of one "begun by the previous Board of Commissioners." A date of the previous commissioners isn't given but the estimated cost of the proposals "was placed between $1,449,000 and $1,800,000" at that time.
One last interesting item to note, the new library building was set to be "located on the old Wayne Street school building site now owned by the county." I wonder where that was?
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Susan Miriello is the Executive Director of the Mifflin County Library.