Last week Charlene Porsild and Kate Hampton of the Montana Historical Foundation joined us to tell us about the fascinating history of Carnegie libraries in Montana.

 

Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland and immigrated to the United States at age 12. His first job was changing the bobbin spools in a cotton mill in Allegheny Pennsylvania. A wealthy man in town allowed the young man to borrow his books and Carnegie never forgot the value of access to books to the developing mind.

 

With his innate intelligence and work ethic, Carnegie moved from the telegraph industry to the railroad industry and finally to steel, ultimately becoming the richest man of the era. He believed strongly in philanthropy, and one of his major philanthropic efforts was the building of libraries in American communities. Over the course of his lifetime, he established 1,689 Carnegie libraries. Seventeen of them were in Montana and fifteen remain today. Unfortunately, one of the two to be razed during the course of the 20th century was the one in Great Falls.

 

The libraries are notable for the beauty of their architecture and the craftsmanship of all the interior touches. Ms. Hampton has recently written a book on the subject, entitled The Best Gift: Montana's Carnegie Libraries, with photography by Tom Ferris.