Elwood District Carnegie Library is located right off Route 1 in the middle of Ridge
Farm, Illinois. The village is home to one of the smallest Carnegie Libraries in the
United States. Residents from Ridge Farm, Elwood Township, Olivet, Vermilion
Grove, Indianola and other surrounding communities utilize the library and its
ongoing programs.

A Carnegie library is a library that has been built with money donated by Scottish
American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie grew up
poor, but he spent a lot of time as a child in his local library. During the last 18
years of his life, he gave away around $350 million (equivalent to over $10 billion
in today’s currency), almost 90 percent of his fortune, to charities, foundations
and universities. Over 2,000 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and
1929.

The original library was in the back of a jewelry store. Once there were over 100
books the ladies realized they needed a larger location and set out to build a new
library. Anna C Cole wrote to Carnegie and worked tirelessly getting the library
built. The ladies of the Chatauqua Literary and Scientific Circle played a major role
in getting the village a new library, including getting a tax levy passed to support
the new library.

The initial grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation was awarded to the city of
Ridge Farm on April 28, 1909 in the amount of $9,000. Land was purchased on
May 25, 1909 from T.E. Smith with more land purchased in 1929 from Willard
Townsend and is where the library stands today. The Ridge Farm Carnegie Library
was completed in 1910 for $12,000. The five-room building features solid oak
woodwork with 14-foot-long beams and a small, but dignified, entrance with large
pillars on the exterior.

The very first library board consisted of the following –

• Mrs. Joseph Burgan,
• Mrs. Henry J Cole (president)
• Mrs. Isaac Woodyard (vice president)
• Mr. Robert Fisk (treasurer)
• Mrs. John P Morgan
• Mrs. Frank Fellers (secretary)
• Esther Sisson Ensor
• Florence Newlin Carmack