Artifacts, Exhibits, and Images oh my! Since today is the last day of school for students in Fort Smith... On July 27, 1892 The Fort Smith Public Library opened in the Belle Grove school building operated by the Fortnightly Club. Mary O’Toole Parker, wife of Judge Isaac Parker served as the club’s president; Florence Clayton, wife of U.S. Attorney Henry H.H. Clayton, was a founding member. https://www.fortsmithlibrary.org/index.php/about-the-library/about-us/fspl-history The following is an excerpt from the Fort Smith Public Library website. The full copy can be read at the link above. “The Fort Smith Public Library traces its beginnings to 1888, when a small group of Fort Smith ladies established the Fortnightly Club. A social and literary club, Fortnightly members were mostly upper-class, civic-minded women. They met every two weeks in a member’s home to discuss an essay or literary work. Several of the women were married to prominent Fort Smith men. Mary Parker, wife of Judge Isaac C. Parker, was the club’s first president. Florence Clayton, wife of U.S. Attorney Henry H.H. Clayton, was a founding member. Conversation at Fortnightly Club meetings frequently turned to the need for a public library in Fort Smith. In September 1891, a committee composed of Mrs. C.R. Cummings, Mrs. R.E. Jackson, Miss Lizzie Myers, and Miss Ida Ayres was appointed to interview leading citizens on the possibility of getting funds for a library. As momentum built, they took the formal step of forming the Fortnightly Library Association, with a permanent public library as its goal. Memberships were sold for $5 each. The Fortnightly Library Association opened a library on July 27, 1892, in the Belle Grove school building. There were 1,100 books on the shelves. The initial collection included donations, books used for Fortnightly Club study and discussion, books purchased with the proceeds of the membership fees, and a collection of books on indefinite loan from St. John’s Episcopal Church. Later that summer of 1892, the library moved to free space in the probate courtroom of the county courthouse. A year later, the Association reported that the library had been open on 51 Saturdays from 2-6 p.m. They noted that one exception was the Saturday after the cyclone when every hand was needed for the work of relief. By 1902, it had grown to be the largest public library in Arkansas.” *Mrs. Parker is third from the left in the back row. #fortsmithpubliclibrary #fortsmitharkansas #fortsmithhistory #fortsmithmuseumofhistory #godowntownfs #DiscoverFortSmith #ExperienceFortSmith #VictorianEra (fb)

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