Eagle Grove Public Library

The Eagle Grove Public Library, now the Eagle Grove Historical Museum, is a historical building in Eagle Grove, Iowa, United States. A subscription library was begun in Eagle Grove around 1885, and housed in the post office. The impetus for the first free public library was a 1901 advertising campaign by a Des Moines insurance and investment company. When local citizens bought company's bonds, the company
donated 250 books to the town. The books were housed in the Masonic Hall. The Carnegie [Corporation of New York] accepted Eagle Grove's application for a grant for $10,000 to build a library building on April 26, 1902. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm Smith & Gage in the Beaux Arts style. The library was dedicated on September 15, 1903. It is a brick structure with a conical-roofed entrance pavilion. Four engaged columns in the Ionic order flank the main entryway. The public library has subsequently moved to a larger facility, and the old library building was turned over to the local historical society for a museum. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.