The 22nd in a series of articles
for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham
Bonham, Texas -- The citizens of Bonham have always valued education, so it is not surprising that they have supported a public library. The first public library was an outgrowth of the circulating library of the Current Literature Club, a women’s organization composed of twenty-five to thirty women who studied literature and the arts and initiated civic improvements.
Funds were raised for a library which would be available to members ($1.00 a year). The Library opened in 1901 with a librarian. There were a number of fundraising activities to keep the library going.
The location moved after 1901, and in 1914 the Library was at 125 East Fifth Street. In 1916 the Library was on the 3rd floor of the former Bonham Drug Company. A fire at this location in the early 1920’s seriously damaged the
collection.
In 1926 the newly organized Tejas Delphian Club asked the Current Literature Club to join with it to get the Library going again. Fund-raising began again and a room on the 2nd floor of what became the Duke & Ayes store was secured. When this space became unavailable County Judge H. A. Spies offered an unused room on the third floor of the courthouse.
The Library remained in the courthouse until 1938, when Mayor Joe Hrdlicka proposed a plan to remodel a portion of the room between the city hall and the fire hall for the library.
The Library remained in the City Hall building from 1938 until 1959 when the building was torn down. The City had provided the room, paid utilities, and gave a small amount for support.
In 1959 Martin Halsell and his sister, Mrs. John Russell, proposed to give their parents’ home on East 9th Street, a spacious two-store brick house, as a permanent library home to be maintained by the City. A referendum was called for June 15, 1959 to see if there was citizen support for the proposal. The proposal was rejected by a vote of 438 for to 965 against.
As the City Hall was to be torn down, the Library was temporarily moved to the Burow building on North Main Street.
Then Library found a home in the new City Hall, at Chestnut and East 5th Street (now the Police Department) in 1962.
A campaign to build a new library building in its present location was begun in 1974, and various fund-raising activities were held.
A new building for the Library was completed in 1977 at a cost of $198,000.
From the small collection of books in 1901 the Bonham Public Library has provided services to the community for over 120 years. It has expanded from a book lending library to a resource that provides a wide range of services to all ages.
Building maintenance and staff salaries are provided by the City. An active Library Board raises funds for books, materials and programs. Another source of funding is grants and donations, including the support of the Fair Miller Foundation.
The Bonham Public Library is a dynamic institution with a wonderful staff that provides Bonham citizens with many cultural and educational resources. Bonham residents are rightly proud of their Library.
