About the Library

Our History

In November 1880, Clarence A. Greene started a circulating library in Hamilton at the Post Office Book Store. After many changes, in 1919, the Hamilton City Council called an election on a ten-cent tax to support the library. The measure passed and nine directors were appointed to the Hamilton Public Library's first library board. J.C. Penney, whose boyhood home was Hamilton, agreed to donate $10,000 as a memorial to his parents for the erection of a library building, on the condition that the people of Hamilton contribute a minimum of $5,000 toward the project. In 1920 the Library began building its one-story building. The Hamilton Public Library's first librarian was Miss Mabel White. The Library officially opened its doors on February 12, 1921. The Library stayed in that building until March 1976, when it joined the J.C. Penney Museum on Highway 13. The current tax rate for the library is 0.3058 and the Library Director is Sonja Farnsworth. Please feel free to talk to her or any one of the board members should you have any questions or concerns.