Dwight Foster Public Library

Early history

In Fort Atkinson, two local women's clubs were endeavoring to establish a free public library for their city. One was the Tuesday Club, founded in 1881, by sixteen members. It was a women's study club that met weekly, at which time a member would present a topic for discussion such as a book review, or a paper on Italy, France, England or other countries. As there was no library in Fort Atkinson, books for study were procured from the State Historical Library in Madison. Finding what a necessity a library was, after some years of this inconvenience, they were determined to have one in Fort Atkinson. They began discussing the possibility of establishing a library with city leaders.

The subject of the possibility of establishing a local public library and reading room was also discussed at a meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union on November 4, 1889. On March 10, 1890, the twenty-one ladies present pledged to raise $100 in 1890 to help fund a new library. At the W.C.T.U. meeting on December 7, 1891, Mrs. W. H. Rogers, president of the society, acted as chairman and appointed a committee to petition the city council to ask the voters to appropriate $500 for a free public library.

On January 4, 1892, the city voted to authorize an expenditure of $500 for library purposes, but later the city council discovered they could not release the funds because there was no money left in the city treasury. In frustration, on January 12, 1892, at a meeting of the W.C.T.U., a committee of ladies was appointed to raise the $500. The W.C.TU. donated $100 and in a few months the $500 was promised on paper. By May 21, 1892, they had raised $80 by putting on cost suppers, $20 by donations and $400 by pledges that they collected. On May 25, 1892. The city agreed to donate the money for equipment and maintenance and the city's public library was officially born.

Building history

Fort Atkinson's first library was located at 115 South Main Street, at the northeast corner of Main Street and East Milwaukee, on the second floor of the Wigdale building (now JM Carpets).

The minutes of the March 1901 meeting noted that a committee was appointed to write to Andrew Carnegie, the steel mill magnate and philanthropist, to ask for a gift toward a new public library building. There is no evidence that a reply was ever received. In 1904, a committee was authorized to write Mr. Carnegie again and ask for $10,000 to build a new library. Later it was reported that letters had been received from Mr. Carnegie's private secretary which said Mr. Carnegie saw no reason for superseding the present quarters of the library and the matter was dropped. By 1910, the library board was convinced it was time the library was moved from its by now cramped second floor quarters in the Wigdale building and into its own building. A committee was appointed to see whether money could be raised by popular subscription to purchase the Frank W. Hoard lot at East Milwaukee and Merchants Avenue. (The present location of the library.) On May 9, 1910, the library board appeared at a special meeting of the city council and requested that the city purchase the Hoard residence, taking the deed in the name of the city and the property to be used for library purposes. The request was granted and the property was purchased for $3,000. The library moved into the house in 1910. The lot south of the library was purchased in 1911.

In 1912, Henry E. Southwell of Chicago, son-in-law of Dwight Foster (the city's first settler), offered to give the city $10,000 for the purchase of a new library building. His only stipulation was that it be of good design and that it be named in honor of Dwight Foster. The gift was accepted. In the spring of 1915, the city council appropriated $4,000 toward the erection of the new building and later added an additional $1,100. The Hoard residence, which had housed the library, was moved to a new location on Bluff Street and the new library was built on the old site. The new library was dedicated on October 13, 1916. The total cost was $16,695.23. A clipping from the Milwaukee Sentinel of Sunday, October 1, 1916, commented on the new library. It said that the building was unique in design and that the arrangement was ideal for a small library. "The building is of cement and hollow tile, Kellastone outside finish of green granite and red tile roof."

On January 27, 1929, a special meeting was called to announce that the daughter of Mr. Henry E. and Mrs. Celeste A. Foster Southwell, Mrs. Mary Worcester, was donating $25,000 to be used as a children's wing with its own entrance so that they would not disturb those doing research. Her only stipulation was that the architect's plans were to be submitted to her first and the new wing was to be called the Celeste A. Foster Southwell Memorial Wing, in honor of her mother. Her generous offer was accepted by the board. The new children's wing was dedicated January 28, 1931. The total value of the library was then estimated at $77,000.

The library operated in this footprint for more than 50 years. In 1981, after years of being overcrowded, the library board did a feasibility study on possibility of expanding. A design that more than doubled the total floor space to 21,000 square feet was approved. The cost of the expansion was estimated at $600,000 and an effort to raise half the funds for the cost of project from private sources was successful. The expansion was completed in 1983.

A third expansion was completed in 2011. An addition of 12,000 square feet and reconfiguration of the existing 21,000 square foot took place beginning in March 2010. The project was completed in ten months while the library operated at a temporary location. On February 1, 2011, the newly renovated and expanded library reopened. The project cost was $5.5 million. The 33,000 square foot library was included in a December 2011 architectural issue of Library Journal.