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From: tracie ashby <tashby(a)jeffnet.org>
To: "'Sandy McBeth'" <mcbeth(a)sigecom.net>
Subject: RE: Pike County Newspapers
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 03:39:59 -0700
Hi Sandy...
What can you tell me about Barrett Memorial Library? I have a Barrett
line and wondered if there might be an historical connection.
Thanks for the wonderful info...
Tracie Ashby
tashby(a)jeffnet.org
sybilla(a)geocities.com
Tracie, This is an article I wrote for the newspaper about the library.
Barrett Memorial Library
by Sandy McBeth
The Petersburg Public Library which had been housed at the Pike County
Courthouse since 1923 closed it's doors on Monday, February 1, 1954. The
library reopened on February 7, 1954 as Barrett Memorial Library in their
new building with an "Open House." During the week they were closed the
librarian, Mrs. Mary Sanders supervised several volunteer high school boys
who packed and hauled 12,000 books from the courthouse three blocks to the
new building and unpacked them again.
Barrett Memorial Library was named in honor of Mrs. Edith Barrett, a Pike
County native and wife of Warner L. Barrett. The Barrett's owned a men's
clothing store in Petersburg. After the death of their father in 1924, sons
John Ottis and Lester operated the store for their mother for several years.
Neither of Edith's sons had children and after their deaths in the 1940's
she closed the store.
The Barrett family considered electricity and indoor plumbing unnecessary.
They lived without a heating system except for a stove which heated the home
located where the current library stands. When Mrs. Barrett died at the age
of eighty-one she left the majority of her estate to the Petersburg Public
Library to build a new building.
The estate, valued at approximately $60,000 left to the library consisted of
a forty acre farm, the family home and the Barrett Building where the family
store was located. According to a newspaper article in the Winslow Dispatch,
February 5, 1954 the house was torn down to build the new library on the
home site. The rest of the lots where the house stood except for the lot
used for the library was sold along with the farm to build the library. The
Barrett building was not sold until the early 1970's and proceeds from the
rent of the building up to that time were used to purchase new books for the
library.
The architect who drew the plans for the library was O. A. Tislow of
Indianapolis. He was a native of Pike County and drew the plans free of
charge. The General Contractor for the building was Sims Brothers ( George
O. and Roscoe E. Sims) who worked at a reduced rate to help with the
project. The solid oak stacks (shelving for the books) were made by Corless
Carter owner of Carter's Planning Mill in Petersburg. Landscaping was done
free of charge by the Petersburg Garden Club. This group also maintained
the grounds for the first five years the library was open.
With careful planning, lots of free and reduced charges and many volunteers
the Library Board was able to built and furnished the new library at a cost
of $37,000.
Library Board members during the planning and construction were: Lowell
Carlisle, Beecher Conrad, Mrs. Bell Colvin, Mrs. Jane McCarty, Mrs. Frona
Thomas, Mrs. Floyd Burch and Dr. James Higgins. Mrs. Lyda Siple also served
as a member of this board until her death in 1953.
One of the first items to be placed in the new building was the large
portrait of Mrs. Barrett. This painting was copied from a small print by the
Patterson Home Studio for the library.
In 1963 the Thornton Room was added to the library building. Mrs. Nicholas
(Emaline) Wilson Thornton donated the money for the addition to be built in
memory of her husband. The addition was used as a reading and research room
for many years.
The next addition, approximately 32' x 38' was begun in August of 1974.
The purpose of this addition was to have a historical room, public meeting
room for city and county organizations and display area for the library. The
Historical Room was made possible by donations from Fred V. Chew, Sr. and
the Psi Iota Xi Sorority. Timber from the Wabash-Erie Canal was donated by
Mr. and Mrs. Austin Rudolph to panel two of the walls of the new room. The
Rudolph's salvaged the timber from a section of the canal which had cut
through their property and had the wood cut into paneling. Other items
donated at the time included the chairs and other furnishings which were
donated by the Bicentennial Committee and Historical Society along with a
microfilm reader.
On July 4 the "Dedication Ceremony" and "Open House" for the
Historical Room
was held with guest speaker, Dr. Ralph Gray, professor of history at IU-PU
Indianapolis Campus. The ceremony began with the Petersburg Boy Scouts
presenting the colors followed by Rev. Richard Scherpenisse giving the
invocation and John Grant Alexander singing the National Anthem.
Library Board members during this time period were: Lelia Burns, Edna Boger,
Dr. William A. Weathers, Wyatt Rauch, Robert Readle, Margaret Chappell and
Elizabeth Von der Lehr. Librarian was Virginia Bakeis and Assistant
Librarian was Marjorie Boger.
Furnishings for the Historical Room which can still be found there today
included a desk which had been handed down through the Smith family which
was originally owned by Hosea Smith, surveyor of Petersburg and one of the
founding fathers of Pike County. The desk was donated by Roma Smith.
The Steinway piano belonged to the Barrett family and was found stored in
the Barrett building when the library board sold the building. According to
the records of the Steinway Company the piano was built in 1859 and sold in
Philadelphia.
The "Watchmaker's Regulator" Clock which stands in the Historical Room has
an interesting history. A "Watchmaker's Regulator" clock was used to set
timepieces in a store which makes and repairs watches and clocks. The exact
age of this clock is not known but has been traced back over 100 years. It
had originally been owned in Pike County by H. H. Tislow, a jeweler who had
a shop at what is now 708 E. Main Street. According to the story Mr.
Tislow's daughter sold the clock at an auction after his death and prior to
the 1930's. The clock came into the hands of a savings and loan bank which
operated next door to the jewelry store. The savings and loan closed during
the depression and the City of Petersburg moved into the building as the
City Hall. The clock was there at the time and had remained with the
building. As the clock had not worked for several years it was moved from
place to place in the building until an interest was taken and the clock was
donated to the library. The top piece of the clock had been damaged while
being stored it an upstairs room and the clock was restored in 1979. Raymond
F. Shrock restored the clock works and Ira Franklin restored the cabinet.
Both of these men were from Gibson County. The restoration work took
approximately six months and cost $300 to complete. A special fund from the
library was used for this project.
The Barrett Memorial Library Board, City of Petersburg merged with the Pike
County Contractual Library Board on January 1, 1987 to form the current Pike
County Library system.