Henderson Colored Branch Library (Henderson County, KY)
(start date: 1904 - end date: 1954)In 1904, Henderson Carnegie Public Library built the first library structure for African Americans in the United States. Maria Carr was the library attendant/librarian. The library, a room built onto the back of the Eighth Street Colored School, held 100 books on the seven shelves constructed by J. B. Williams and H. J. Renn. The library was built without the permission of the Carnegie Corporation, resulting in the Henderson Public Library being put on the Carnegie default list. The branch was merged into the main library in 1954. For more see Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones; and "Library for Colored People," The Evening Bulletin, 07/02/1904, p.1.
In 1899, there was a Colored Branch Library in Henderson, KY. Miss Eugenia A. Mundy was in charge of the facility that may have been located within the Eight Street Colored School. Miss Mundy had been a domestic science teacher in Kentucky and Virginia. Source: "The Colored Branch Library at Henderson, KY." The Southern Workman, May 1919, v.XLVIII, No.5, p.254. Online at Google Books.