The History of Putnam County District Library

The earliest attempt at establishing a library in Putnam County occurred in 1896 in Ottawa, at Carrie Shoup's newsstand.  Although this attempt, and another in 1910






proved unsuccessful, the first county public library was founded on February 12, 1924 through the efforts of Maizie Frey.  The first library was housed in an anteroom in the Putnam County Courthouse in Ottawa.  The library was opened three days a week from 2-5pm.  By the end of June 1924 the library increased hours to Monday through Saturday 1-5pm.  Story hours were held each Saturday afternoon and were well attended.  In 1928 the library had outgrown its present location and moved to a new room on the main floor of the courthouse.

In 1930 the library became officially known as the Putnam County Library Association.  The library remained in the courthouse until it was relocated in 1934 to a residence on the corner of Main Street and South Locust Street, bequeathed to the library by Henrietta Brown.  In this new location the library had a separate reading room, children's room, and began its Local History Collection.

In June 1936 the library board established the first branches throughout the county and these were staffed by volunteers.  By 1948, the library became officially known as the Putnam County District Library and as the public demand for library services grew, a new library was constructed in 1986.