Living History

Public Library
Pavillion, WY
1948 - 59
Currently the Pavillion Museum
When I was a child, this building seemed much larger, yet it is only the size of a storage shed. Eventually, the library moved to a different location, and the then vacant building was sold in 1959 to Forrest Morgan, who used it as a shed. Fast forward several decades. The town repurchased the building, moved it to its original site, and created a local museum.

I remember going into this tiny building and finding it packed with books like My Friend Flicka, Curious George, Nancy Drew and so many others that have faded from my memory. I think the building had a wood stove as well, but that memory is not as clear. I just remember it was a magical place, filled with adventures.

According to Irene Jones, author of Pavillion City, the lot on which the building sits was donated by Fremont County in 1948 for the local public library, and Mrs. Minnie Counselor was hired as the first librarian. The same year, the town purchased the building (shown above) from the Pavillion Methodist Church. Mrs. Jones wrote that when the church owned the building it sat behind the parsonage. The building was moved to the County's donated lot - on the west side of Main Street between Center and Cedar Avenues. (Pavillion City, page 60)

Other town librarians in the early years were Mrs. Harold Smith, Mrs. Alice Walker and Mrs. Olive Harebo.

Now, the little, white building is the local museum (open only in the summer, usually by appointment).


Comments

  1. That's neat! I loved the library as a chid too. Now I prefer a book store...

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  2. Little things can pack a big wallop in life....so glad it was your little library and you still are a reader.

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  3. How wonderful that the town repurchased a bit of its history. I fondly remember going to the library as a child, too. Since our library was not very close to where we lived, the bookmobile would come to us in the summer. I can still remember how we looked forward to that.

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  4. I love local museums. Especially when you have all the history at hand. What strikes me as interesting is the names of the librarians. g

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  5. As you know libraries are so special and important to me. I loved to go to the library too as a child. There was not a Nancy Drew that I did not read. I can't believe how tiny this library was.
    Rebel Follower

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  6. How that brings back memories! My town's library was in a building just a tiny bit larger than this. It was a wonderful place. It was later sold to the phone company and they put equipment of some sort in that building. The new place for the library probably had 4 times the space. I bet the librarians thought they were in heaven!

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  7. That is the CUTEST little library ever. I read the same books.....and Snowbound with Betsy

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  8. Oh my gosh! Is that just the cutest little building???? I want to LIVE in it!

    Last fall I took my husband back to the house where I was born. It's so much SMALLER than when we lived in it. LOL

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  9. It is a small museum..I bet it has only the very best things inside. I Love Libraries..so I can imagine you delight as a child visiting this tiny library:)

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  10. It's so nice they got the library back and made it into a museum. Lot of memories in there :)

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