in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
December 05, 2022
BY JOHN BUTLER — A birthday cake and a memory book recently helped the Markdale branch of the Grey Highland Public Library (known as the Walter Harris Memorial Branch) to celebrate an important anniversary: it was 125 years ago that the Markdale library came under the watchful and caring wing of its municipality, the village of Markdale at that time.
The three library branches in Grey Highlands are now part of the Grey Highlands Public Library, but before the creation of Grey Highlands in 2001, these branches — in Markdale, Flesherton and Kimberley – were separate entities, supported by the municipalities in which they were located. But when these libraries were founded, they received no sustained municipal funding at all.
The Markdale Library was founded in 1888 as the Markdale Mechanics’ Institute. Established first in England during the 1820s, mechanics' institutes began as voluntary associations of working men seeking self-improvement through education. They were funded largely by membership fees and, by the end of the nineteenth century in Ontario, by grants from the Ontario government as well. Originally envisaged in Britain as skilled working-men’s resources, they developed in Canada largely through the effort of businesspeople and middle class professionals (doctors, lawyer, ministers and the like) in cities, towns and villages
By 1895 Ontario had 311 mechanics’ institutes with 31,195 members. In that same year, recognizing that mechanics’ institutes had outgrown a working class focus, Ontario passed legislation to transform the institutes into public libraries.
In 1890, the Markdale Mechanics’ Institute comprised 400 volumes, a selection of magazines and a reading room open one evening a week (two Saturday hours were added in 1892). Its aspirations were high in 1890: it hoped to eventually have “a first-class night school, drawing class and gymnasium with competitive examinations for the various medals and diplomas offered by the Government.” By 1895 the collection had increased to 1,158 volumes.
Life wasn’t easy for the volunteers whose energies drove the library in its first years. It was a constant challenge to keep membership levels high enough to qualify for government grants, while keeping membership fees low enough to attract members. C. W. Rutledge, owner and editor of the Markdale Standard, was a leading figure in the library and promoted it tirelessly in his newspaper. In May 1892 he wrote, “From the official report we learn that Markdale Mechanics’ Institute has the lowest running expense bill of any Institute of its size in the province. Every family in the village and for 2 or 3 miles around should join. Think of having the use of over six hundred volumes of books together with $50 worth of papers and magazines for a whole year for one dollar… Those who are members are highly pleased with their investment and consider that they get value five times over for their money yet there are many who do not avail themselves of its benefits. At the last directors meeting it was decided to put in a set of Fencing Foils, Chess and Checkers. This will add to the interest and should increase the membership. It is also intended to have new books coming forward every month. Let there be a general rally to the Institute.”
By 1897, it was clear that the library would benefit from a closer relationship with Markdale village’s government — the library needed to be treated as an indispensable part of village life. The village’s councillors agreed, and on November 24 the Markdale Council passed Bylaw 104 taking over the Public Library and bylaw 105 appointing C. W. Rutledge, elementary school Principal James Rowe and Dr. Angus Ego as members of the Library’s new board of management on behalf of the Council.
This was the event that was celebrated two weeks ago with a cake and a book in which library patrons can record their reminiscences of the importance of the library in their lives.
The connection between library and municipality became crucial several years later, when U.S. industrialist Andrew Carnegie began granting money for the construction of libraries across the U.S. and Canada. Carnegie insisted on negotiating only with the municipal government in a town that wanted a grant for library construction, and he required the municipality to demonstrate the need for a public library, provide the building site, pay staff and maintain the library, draw from public funds to run the library, annually provide ten percent of the cost of the library's construction to support its operation, and provide free service to all.
Markdale’s Council was in a strong position to meet Carnegie’s requirements based on its 1897 decision to take the library under its wing, and it received a Carnegie grant of $7,000 in August 1914 to build its library. The imposing library building opened on February 24 1915, one of 125 “Carnegie libraries” eventually built in Canada. This building ceased to be a library in 2001 when the library moved to its current premises, but the Carnegie building — one of early Markdale’s architectural gems — still stands, repurposed, at 21 Main Street East.
The three branches of the Grey Highlands Public Library remain essential and valued municipal resources. Although the library operates under its own board to conform to provincial legislation for libraries, it is well integrated with other Grey Highlands municipal departments.
Library board member Stewart Halliday, a former Grey Highlands Deputy Mayor, sees the library as an essential element in helping Grey Highlands to achieve the cultural elements in its strategic plan. The Library’s logo — a pair of open hands – also reminds Halliday of a palm tree — “A fitting image,” says Halliday, “because our library branches are oases, offering free, safe, accessible spaces for all ages — spaces filled with resources to help people achieve their individual and family needs and dreams.”
Not a bad outcome for the people who, 125 years ago, defined the library in Markdale as a crucial municipal resource.
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