A library was first established in Two Harbors, Minnesota in 1897. A group of citizens banded together to raise the funds that were used to create the first free public library in town. The citizens hoped the library would “counteract the influence of the 22 saloons in the village.”
The collection grew to 481 books by 1905, but the library still didn’t have a permanent home. It moved from office to office, eventually ending up in a small room at City Hall. So in 1907, the city asked Andrew Cargenie for $15,000 to add a Carnegie library to the growing town. Funding was granted and the honey and russet colored library opened on July 20, 1909.
An addition to the library was completed in 1983 that tacked on an additional 4,000 square feet of space. The Carnegie portion of the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. You can find the library on Waterfront Drive.
