Union Carnegie Library – Union County, South Carolina

Between 1905 and 1916, 13 libraries were built in South Carolina with grants from the Carnegie Corporation. Seen here, Union County‘s library is the oldest of South Carolina’s Carnegie libraries and one of only five still in active use as public libraries today.

To be eligible to receive a $10,000 library grant from the Carnegie Corporation, a local community had to agree to raise any remaining construction costs and also maintain the library after it was built. In 1905, citizens of Union County purchased the lot for the building and raised an additional $3,500.

In 2009, Union’s library was named the Best Small Library in America by the Library Journal.

SCIWAY thanks Carol Gant of Rock Hill for sharing this beautiful photo with us! Also, be sure to check out this photo of the Williamsburg Carnegie Library in Kingstree.