The Tahlequah Carnegie Library

     The Tahlequah Carnegie Library features Ionic columns supporting an entablature and triangular pediment in the Classical style. The projecting entryway lends authority and elegance to the front facade.

    Correspondence from the town's leaders to Carnegie cite many reasons their city is deserving of a library grant, most notably they mention that the members of the Cherokee tribe had an alphabet and were "readers". Located in Tahlequah at the time were the Cherokee Male and Female Seminaries, a colored high school, and the Cherokee Orphan Asylum.

    In 1905 forty citizens had paid $1.50 each to join the Western Library Association of Kansas City, who sent 50 books every 8 months for the subscribers to read. These books were housed in a local drug store, whose managers acted as librarians.

    A letter from J. B. Moore, Town Clerk, dated April 1908 advises Carnegie that the library is finally open after many delays.

    The Carnegie Library is now connected to the current public library, and plans are underway for some future renovation and use of the space by the library.