Whenever I visit a town, one of the first things I do is look for the local library. And walking west of the downtown Holly, Michigan business district, you can’t miss their impressive public library.
Built over a period of three years in the early twentieth century with a grant from oil baron Andrew Carnegie, the Holly Carnegie District Library is set back from the street, surrounded by tall trees, lush green beautifully manicured lawns, and built from local fieldstones.
Legend has is that when word spread about the library, farmers across the country gathered and brought in the fieldstones for the construction.
I didn’t realize it, but the Holly Carnegie District Library is one of more than 60 Carnegie libraries built in Michigan. In total, 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built around the world, with 1,689 libraries built in the United States.
As you walk up to the entrance of the library, you pass a beautiful sculpture of children reading, a memorial sculpture in memory of Martha McKenzie who worked as a clerk in the library for many years.
