Carnegie Library
It is believed that a log cabin, owned by Charlie Faison, one of the county’s first merchants, was the first building on the land that came to house the Carnegie Library. The cabin was demolished in the mid to late 1890s.
The Carnegie Library came about in large part thanks to Andrew Carnegie. John E. Howell, County School Commissioner, saw the need for a library, so he went before the City Council to request they provide a fund to maintain and operate the library if Andrew Carnegie, a philanthropist, would provide a building fund. Carnegie was asked and agreed to provide a $10,000 fund for building the structure. M. D. Norman and J. B. Norman Jr. deeded the site on what was then the corner of Crawford and West Broad Streets (now North Main Street and First Avenue NW) to the City of Moultrie on May 14, 1907. The building itself is patterned from suggestions made by Mr. Carnegie. Specifications for the building were strict “The Library will be a two-story building, it will have a small auditorium on the second floor with a seating capacity of 300 and a stage or rostrum, it will probably be used for lyceum entertainments or for a library club. The first floor will be devoted to the Librarian’s room, stack room, reading rooms, reception hall, lavatory, etc. The building will be heated with fireplaces. The doors will be slide doors and inside finish will be of pine. The building will be of Columbus brick with artificial stone trimming. The size of the building will be 40 x 65.”
The Carnegie Library was completed in April of 1908 and first occupied in August of that year.
The Carnegie Library’s first librarian was Mrs. W. C. McKenzie. She was employed at “the handsome salary of $500 per year.”
The first citizen to check out a book from the public library in Moultrie was then-Mayor W. D. Scott.
Youngsters filled the Children’s Room for the first Story Hour in 1945. Murals on the walls were painted by Mrs. Boaz in 1949.
225 books were checked out the first week the library was open. The second floor meeting room was used by many organizations. In 1938 the club rooms were turned over to the Moultrie School System for use as a continuation school until 1964, the school board continued to use the rooms as a vocational school offering business courses.
The Carnegie Library is said to be the one of the oldest free-standing building in Colquitt County, along with the Colquitt County Courthouse.
In 1964, citizens voted to build a new library. The Carnegie Library was closed November 1, 1964. The building then became a branch of the main library that exclusively served the African American community for the next five years.
The condition of the building was deteriorating, and it was sold to a local real estate company in 1973. That same year, Billy Fallin bought the library and, with the help of local architect Frank McCall Jr., rehabilitated it. The building maintains as much of the original structure as possible. The classic details of this early 20th Century building are highlighted by a most pleasing color scheme on the interior. The original hardware and sliding doors were left, however the walls in the private offices above the paneled wainscots were covered with grass cloth and burlap wallcoverings.
It became the offices of Fallin & McIntosh in 1973.
In 1982 the Carnegie Library was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places.
The building was refurbished and redecorated again in 2002.
The building still houses Fallin & McIntosh.
Late 1800s: Charlie Faison’s residence
1908: Carnegie Library
1973: Fallin & McIntosh
Location: 39 North Main Street