Those were tough times, back in the pioneering days. Dr. Welwood Murray was talked into opening a small hotel on this site in 1886 and he added a small library behind the hotel. It was his passion. Over time, he passed on, the hotel closed, and his son George deeded the property to the city with the caveat being that it remain a free library. And so it is. But it is not your average library by a long shot. There are no books to check out but it does have periodicals, computer terminals, and an historical search facility onsite. It also is the visitor information stop for us tourists to pick up maps and information. And we thought we knew all there was to know ... hah! We were so far off the mark on this.
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Those were tough times, back in the pioneering days. Dr. Welwood Murray was talked into opening a small hotel on this site in 1886 and he added a small library behind the hotel. It was his passion. Over time, he passed on, the hotel closed, and his son George deeded the property to the city with the caveat being that it remain a free library. And so it is. But it is not your average library by a long shot. There are no books to check out but it does have periodicals, computer terminals, and an historical search facility onsite. It also is the visitor information stop for us tourists to pick up maps and information. And we thought we knew all there was to know ... hah! We were so far off the mark on this.