Public Library (Oskaloosa, Iowa)
Oskaloosa Public Library (photo by Brian McMillian)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – For those not familiar with ‘Iowa Backroads‘ and all of the fantastic information and pictures about the places we call home around the State of Iowa, your in luck because Brian McMillian has a website packed full of the history of our state.
Brian McMillian is the creator and publisher of ‘Iowa Backroads’, and he’s offered to send us 4 quick stories about our home county. Brian has other stories involving Mahaska County, and I invite you to enjoy the hard work and miles he has spent in helping to document our state. Here is the LINK to Mahaska County on Iowa Backroads. You can also join the Iowa Backroads Facebook page HERE.
by Brian McMillian
The local Women’s Club led the drive to form a public library in the Mahaska County seat of Oskaloosa. Funded by a $20,000 donation from the Carnegie Foundation, the library opened its doors in 1903 with an initial collection from the YMCA member library. After 90 years, an addition was added to the library which doubled the space; the new interior space was designed with consistent colors and woodwork while the exterior brick matched the original design to maintain the building’s architectural style.
Patrons now enter the library via the addition, located directly west (behind) the original structure. In 2003, a time capsule was buried mark the 100th anniversary of the library; it is to be opened in September 2103. The contents of the time capsule are detailed on the Oskaloosa Public Library website.
