Humble Beginning

The Marshville Library began in the home of Mrs. H.T McBride in 1933 as a project of the Mother’s Club.  The Learn-a-Lots Department of the Club was led by Mrs. McBride who became the fist librarian.

In 1934 the library featured 235 books in the old City Hall where Miss Vera Leonard supervised the library  three afternoons a week.  Bruce Stegall painted the room and built shelves.  A fireplace with coal from the town and wood from the librarian provided heat.

The Learn-a-Lots withdrew their support in 1940 leaving the Woman’s Club to take over.  Rummage sales, dinners, and radio programs were used to raise money for books.  About 750 books were received from a library in New Jersey that gave books to any community that would pay express charges.

Mayor Myron Green tried to get the WPA to help with funding and work but was not successful.  The Woman’s Club raised $20.00 and purchased books from Ivey’s in Charlotte.

Expansion

Mrs. Sallie Marsh Griffin became librarian in 1939.  She continued in that position for 22 years.  In 1943 the Library became a branch of the Union County Public Library System. The library was moved to the site of the old health clinic. There were two rooms and more shelf space.  In 1948 it moved to the old Fire Department building near Stegall’s Meat Processing Plant.  From there it moved to the back of Larry’s Red & White Supermarket and then on to 137 Main Street in 1974.   The Main Street facility was leased by the Town of Marshville and was reportedly always in need of repairs.  Eventually, damp, must and mold necessitated the closing of the facility.  At the end of 1992 the Town of Marshville pledged to match donations to the library up to $100,000.  The Library moved from its Main Street location in 1994 when a new facility was built on East Union Street.

The new library consisted of 3,500 sf of library space with a multipurpose room.  The $250,000 construction funds were raised by the people of Marshville.

The New Marshville Library

In February 1999, the Union County Board of Commissioners set aside $4 million for expansion of the Union County Public Library system with  $200,000 for expansion of  the Marshville Library.  The new structure was designed to provide needed additional public automation and study space. In the age of computers, the additional space would meet the needs for public automation.   A $20,000 grant from the Cannon Foundation was received in 1999 to help purchase hardware and software for the new area.  Another grant of $18,000 from the Gates Foundation was received in 2000. Added to the Cannon Grant it assured a superior public automation facility for the new Marshville Library. 

 In June 2000, Carroll Edwards, Marshville businessman, donated $500,000 to build a new Marshville Library in memory of his mother, the Lois Morgan Edwards Memorial Library. The County Commissioners set aside an additional $250,000 and the Town of Marshville designated $100,000 per year for two years to go towards construction.  Hodge & Associates of Monroe were contracted to prepare plans to build the new library.

The First Monroe Library

The first library in Monroe opened in the northeast corner of the second floor of the old Courthouse in March 1930.  A committee of five concerned women collected books with the assistance of the Chautauqua Book Club, cataloged the materials, and raised funds for necessary equipment.  With the aid of the Van Dyke Book Club, they operated the library with limited county funds until 1937 when the works Progress Administration assumed operation.  Mrs. Sara Napier became the WPA Supervisor and bookmobile services were initiated.

 In 1939 the County Commissioners appointed the first library board.

During the 1930’s and 1940’s there were library branches in Waxhaw, Wingate and north Monroe (Manetta Mills).  They were all supported by local funds and governed by local committees.  The Negro Branch on Winchester Avenue also opened in 1947.

In the early 1940’s libraries in Marshville and Waxhaw also started by interested groups of women joined with Monroe to form a library system.   As early as 1941, the North Carolina State Library provided field representatives to aid local libraries. At that time Union County became eligible to purchase a bookmobile and the library issued a budget separate from the local school system.

A Separate Library

In 1946 under the leadership of local book clubs and a Friends of the Library group, Union County became the sixth county in the state to vote for a county tax levy.  Neal Austin became Library Director from 1950 to 1952.

In 1952 Mrs. Kathryn Morrow became Librarian.  In 1954 the library moved from the courthouse to former Nurse’s Home at 200 East Windsor Street.  A larger bookmobile was purchased.

The New East Windsor Building

In 1960 Jane L. McDaniel became Librarian and during this time the Union County Citizens for Better Libraries (UCCBL) was started.  The UCCBL eventually became the Friends of the Library.   A bond election held in 1964 approved local funds and federal matching funds were added to make it possible to construct the original building on Windsor Street. This new building, designed as a twenty-year expansion, was dedicated in May 1966.  The building set a new record low of library construction costs in North Carolina at $11.04/SF for 24,350 SF (total of $360,560.66).

In 1966 the library system purchased a Gerstenslager bookmobile which provided library materials to county citizens, and also furnished collections for schools in the county.  A larger bookmobile unit was purchased with Revenue Sharing funds in 1974. 

In 1967 the library became a department of the county government under the General Statutes of North Carolina. Barbara Johnson became Library Director in 1968 and immediately began to develop the new building and its collection.  This marked a new era for the Union County Public Library.  The Monroe Library served as the headquarters for libraries throughout the County.

Then in 1978 a van program called REAP (Reaching Elderly and Preschoolers) was begun with LSCA funds using a van.  After the initial three year pilot program and enthusiastic citizen support, the County Commissioners voted the funds to continue the program.  In 1995 bookmobile service was replaced with an Outreach services van that served homebound patrons, preschools, day-cares, after-school programs and retirement centers.

The North Carolina State Constitution was amended in 1973 to include library service as essential to the citizens of the state.  Until that change the library had been limited to a tax levy for funding and operation.  

Future library expansion in Monroe was planned with the purchase of adjoining properties in 1975 and 1978 by the Dickerson Trust Fund.  This fund had been established to aid the library by Norven Kennedy Dickerson, Sr. and Sara, his wife.

Starting the Library

Two hundred library enthusiasts from Indian Trail met with the Union County Public Library Director in 1970 to request the organization of a public library. From that meeting seven volunteers responded who were trained at the Monroe Library.  An old bookmobile was towed in front of the Indian Trail Food Center to serve as a temporary library for nearly two years.

When a new Town Hall was built in May 1970, space was provided for a library. The library materials were moved in, and the first paid employee was hired to provide services.  From 1971 - 1983, the Library remained in one room.  In 1983, the town added on to the back of the building, giving the Library the old Town Hall office.  In 1991, Indian Trail Town Hall moved into another building and the Indian Trail Branch Library expanded to fill the empty space. 

Regional Library Expansion

In 1999 $1.8 million was designated by the Union County Board of Commissioners for the new Union West Regional Library in Indian Trail. These funds were designed to construct a modern 11,000-12,000 sf library designed to serve the communities of Indian Trail, Stallings, Lake Park, and Hemby Bridge.  The 2.5 acre site for this new library was donated by the Town of Indian Trail.  The architectural firm of Ramsey, Burgin and Smith of Salisbury  was hired to design the Union West Regional Library.

Womens’ Club Project

The Waxhaw Women’s Club and W.PA. established the Waxhaw Library in 1937 in the corner of a small furniture store. Mrs. W.A. “Miss Sallie” Wolfe was the first librarian. In May 1939 it moved to North Main Street and joined with the Monroe and Marshville libraries to form the Union County Public Library System.

Waxhaw Library Building

The Waxhaw Library remained in its 385 square foot facility on Main Street until September 1, 1981 when it moved to its current location at 509 South Providence Street. This building was constructed with Federal funding on land provided by the town.  The brick building was just under 2,000 sf.

Looking to the Future

Union county residents overwhelmingly approved a $10.1 million bond in November of 2016.  Groundbreaking on the new Southwest Regional Library was November of 2021.  Construction started in December of 2022; opening day is anticipated in March 2024.