Our History Matters: Bradentown's libraries

Libraries have always been an important part of the Manatee County community starting with the collection of Edmund Lee.

Lee's collection was large by the standards of the day and for this area. After his death in 1892, the extensive library of encyclopedias, books on the sciences, books in Latin and Greek and a New Testament of the Bible published in 1763, were sold, some much sought-after books brought as much as $6.10 each. The total sale netted $75.

In 1898, Charles Bishop installed a 600-volume library in Mr. Lightfoot's fruit and

confectionery store. Books were arranged in three sets. A customer would pay 25, 50 or 75 cents for a book in the set or series. The purchase gave them the privilege of reading the book then returning the book for another in the set for 5, 10 or 15 cents.

In 1904, the Bradentown library was kept in Mrs. Bass' Millinery Store by the ladies of the Village Improvement Association. Books were checked out for 5 cents with the proceeds devoted to the purchase of new books.

The library was rapidly outgrowing its space and a true library would need to be built. On July 15, 1904, Mrs. M.J. Wertz, president of the VIA, announced they would purchase a lot and establish a library. They paid $400 for the lot. Dr. Pelot, the seller, donated $160, bringing the price down to $240.

This library was so popular. The Manatee River Journal published the book donations and lists of new books added to the library.

By 1912, there were more than 1,600 volumes and, by 1913, there were more than 1,700.

By 1914, Bradentown had outgrown its library again. A proposal for a Carnegie Free Library was presented by Mr. Lathrop of the Peninsular Telephone Co. as president of the Board of Trade.

Mrs. H. Walter Fuller, president of the Library Association, proposed the transfer of their assets and materials to the new library, including 2,300 books. The library proposal, the trustees and the project for the library was approved by voters 281-to-66 in 1915.

The original application, submitted by the Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Horton of the Library Association, was returned with the request it should be submitted by the mayor. Carnegie library funds would only be released to a taxing authority.

Hurdles to overcome

This started a lengthy series of communications between Mrs. T.J. Bachman of the Library Association and James Bertham of the Carnegie Grant Fund. The Carnegie committee refused the application because Bradentown already had a library. This was corrected by the association donating its building and land toward the building fund with a value of $2,000.

Bradentown had committed $1,500 and the lot toward the $15,000 construction cost.

Another hurdle was the building had to be one-story with a basement. Because of the high water table in our area, the Bradentown Carnegie and the Palmetto Carnegie libraries have only partial basements.

The biggest hurdle to overcome was the fact there was a Carnegie Library in Palmetto. Fortunately, for Bradentown, there was no bridge to Palmetto at the time. People still crossed by ferry and, because the river was considered a major obstacle, $10,000 was granted for the library's construction.

After almost three years, the new Carnegie Library in Bradenton was dedicated Oct. 12, 1918.

An addition was made to the library in 1956-57 and the Carnegie remained the public library until the new county library was built on the Manatee River.

The Carnegie Library was then left vacant only to find new life as the Historical Records Library under the Clerk of Circuit Court R.B. "Chips" Shore as the first archive operating as a department under a Clerk's Office in Florida.

Palmetto and Bradenton's Carnegies have been fortunate to survive as a museum and a research library where so many Carnegies have not.

Will Bradenton outgrow its library again? That's hard to predict with the electronic age. Libraries are still places for groups to meet, find a new author, research, check out a puzzle, a movie or music or just sit and read. They will always have a place in the community.

Librarian Cindy Russell, Historical Records Library, enjoys genealogy, sewing, needlework and jigsaw puzzles. Email cindy.russell@manateeclerk.com or call 941-741-4070.

This story was originally published February 24, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Our History Matters: Bradentown's libraries ."