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I receive many compliments about my library history columns. Thank you so much to all of you who let me know that you like my columns. I've been writing about library history for some time now, since April 2023.
During this past year, I've learned a lot about how the library came to be and the various librarians and library locations. I thought I'd give you a recap.
In 1731, Benjamin Franklin started the Library Company of Philadelphia. By paying a fee and annual dues, members had access to books, which were very expensive to buy. Franklin's idea of a member library quickly grew throughout the colonies and then through the United States. The first library in Mifflin County was the Lewistown Library Company in 1802 with the first librarian being Edward Cole (1778?-1813), who was also the publisher of the local newspaper, The Western Star (published in Lewistown from 1800 until about 1812). What became of this library is lost to history. It's interesting to note that the population of Lewistown was 523 people at this time.
The Mifflin County Lyceum was organized in 1835. A lyceum is defined as a place for lectures and debates but lyceums needed a library to be a sort of "referee" on the facts. Thomas Foster and William Rothrock were the librarians for the MC Lyceum. According to my research, the Lyceum was not successful in acquiring books from an "earlier library." Could that earlier library have been the Lewistown Library Company? Even though the Mifflin County Lyceum was active for only nine years, it did amazing things such as acting as an early Chamber of Commerce and improving living conditions in the community. For example, it helped establish the Lewistown Water Company in 1838. In 1840, the Lewistown population was 2,058 (that's a huge jump in just 40 years).
The Apprentice Literary Society began in 1842 and merged with the Lyceum in 1844. The mission of the ALS was "to elevate the mind above the mere idea of work and thus dignify labor." The ALS was a combination library and lecture hall for people who purchased memberships. There were five members. Part of a nation-wide movement to "raise community cultural levels," the ALS was so successful and popular that after eleven years, in 1853, it purchased land and built the building that still stands today at 13 East Third Street (the United Way of Mifflin-Juniata). In 1857, street lamps were installed (the lights were either oil or gas). We would have had dirt streets, some may have been cobblestone streets. Street paving in Lewistown didn't start until 1912. Everyone either walked or traveled by horse and carriage.
While the ALS continued, it must have lacked something. Was it because it focused on work and labor? The ALS wasn't just for men and boys; they were assisted by the ladies' auxiliary. But the needs of a community constantly change over time and by 1869 "a public library was agitated for town." This quote is from The Historical Souvenir of Lewistown published by the Sentinel on July 4, 1925. Agitated here means "a campaign to arouse public concern about an issue in the hope of prompting action." I just love that. The library was agitated for town.
Anyway, in 1870 the Lewistown Library Association was formed with William McKee (1820-1894) and Frank Barr (unknown information) acting as librarians. The Lewistown Library was open two days per week and membership fees were collected; fees varied. A person could buy 100 shares of library stock for $10. The membership fee was $1.50 for stockholders and $2.50 per year for non-stockholders. The fees were used to purchase books. The Lewistown Library had between 500 and 1,000 books (I've found information with both numbers) in its collection and was initially housed at 148 E. Market St., Lewistown, also known as the Hamaker Building. Thanks to my friends at the Historical Society Library, I learned that the Hamaker Building was once where the Juniata Valley Bank is now on the Square.
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Susan Miriello is the Executive Director of the Mifflin County Library. She is currently reading Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson.