ABOUT EPLD
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The Eureka Public Library District will create an environment where life-long habits of learning and self-expression are encouraged and where all members of the community can meet their educational, informational, and recreational needs.
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The Eureka Public Library District Board of Trustees and staff collectively value:
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As early as 1888 the Ladies Literary and Social Club saw a need for a public library in Eureka. The society, which was formed in 1887, included Sarah J. Davidson Crawford, Annie Ewing Davidson, Jane Ewing Davidson, Georgina Callender Johann, and Miss Marion Callender. The women contributed $1 each to buy books to form a library. However, their motion was tabled as there was no place for the library to be housed. The organization was renamed the Eureka Women’s Club in 1897. It wasn’t until 1930 that the club signed a two-year lease for a building in the 100 block of South Main Street. The library officially opened on July 5, 1930. The initial collection featured 1,548 books, and the library hours were 2 to 5 pm and 7 to 8 pm Tuesdays and Saturdays, and 2 to 5 pm on Wednesdays.
The library functioned under the jurisdiction of the Eureka Women’s Club for six years. On June 1, 1936, the library was placed under city jurisdiction, became tax supported, and was run by a mayor-appointed board. It moved twice: to the Kellogg building and to the Klaus building. It found a permanent home in 1944 when charter member Annie Davidson (1862-1944) passed away. The stately two-story brick home, which her maternal grandfather (A. G. Ewing) had built in 1858, at 200 S. Main Street was to the Eureka Christian Church for use as a public library provided the citizens could raise a $10,000 endowment for maintenance of the structure. The funds were raised within 10 months, and the library opened in its present-day location on December 9, 1944. In 1977 an addition to the historic home was built, and in 1990 the library district was expanded to include all of Olio and Cruger townships. In 2017 library supporters raised funds to install an elevator to provide full accessibility to the basement-level children’s library. |
Annie Ewing Davidson
The Ewing - Davidson Home
Albert Gallatin Ewing
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Updates as of August 29, 2025:
- EPLD's 2025 Local Author Fair, Read Local, has been cancelled! Unfortunately we did not have enough interest from local authors this year.