Community Corner
Beaumont Library Celebrating Its 110th Anniversary on October 1
Free library mug for the first 110 people to check something out!
Beaumont Library opened its doors to the public 110 years ago on October 1, 1911. To commemorate the occasion, we have produced a special edition library mug that is imprinted with the library logo and the words “Beaumont Library since 1911.”
The first 110 people who come to the Library and check out an item on Friday, October 1, 2021 will get one of those mugs for free. Light refreshments will also be provided that day for all visitors.
Beaumont Library District was created by a public vote that took place on August 12, 1911. According to a news article in The Gateway Gazette: “Beaumont township was made a library district by a two-to-one vote the result being 59 for and 27 against. Immediate steps will be taken to get a library underway.”
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A 3-member Library Board, comprised of Canadian-born Chester McNeil, President, W. E. Baker, and a Mr. White wasted no time in getting things organized, holding their first meeting on August 30.
By September, the trustees had appointed Mrs. C.J. Miner as the librarian at a salary of $25 per month. It was reported in The Gateway Gazette that “the matter of literature for the reading room was taken up and order was placed for the following magazines and papers,” amongst them Literary Digest, Scientific American, Cosmopolitan, Saturday Evening Post, the London News, and the Chicago Record-Herald.
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Then, on Sunday, October 1, an informal opening of Beaumont Library took place in two rooms on the ground floor of the Beaumont Bank building, rented for $125 per year. The 81 books in the collection had been purchased by the Beaumont Woman’s Club, the group responsible for getting the Library founded.
By 1914, a grant from Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of a permanent home at 125 E. 8th Street, which is still the current address!
Beaumont Library, a California Special District independent of both city and county government, provides library services to Beaumont and Cherry Valley. Call 951-845-1357 or visit bld.lib.ca.us for more information.
