Etowah Carnegie Public Library

Etowah Carnegie Library, the second public building erected in Etowah (the first being the Old Grammar school building in 1910) was first built in 1915 by means of an $8,000.00 grant From the Carnegie Foundation. It was built on property donated by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company. There are only 2,500 Carnegie Libraries in the world. About 1,700 of these are in the United States.

The two-story brick edifice is 100 feet long by 40 feet in depth, facing Ohio Avenue, with the remainder of the property then in use as a quasi-park, a calaboose (jail) and later a fire station. After World War I, the park was used for the display of captured German artillery. During the late 1960's, the park south of the Library was used for the construction of a combination police and fire department building.

The Carnegie building has always been used primarily as a library, except for the years from 1918 to 1922 when it was occupied by the first Etowah High School. It remained in use as a high school until the new school was built on Washington Avenue and 5th street. After the school relocated City offices were established on the ground floor, with part of it used for an auditorium. This has continued until this date.

A committee from the town of Etowah, instructed to secure a library building from the Carnegie Foundation were: C.D. Bevan, editor of the Etowah Enterprise; John M. Johnson, a lumber dealer; T.A. Aber, L&N civil engineer; Haywood York, a building contractor; Joe P. Dunn, automobile dealer; A.B. Bayless, L&N Superintendent; N.Z. Dewees, Town of Etowah Recorder.

The building committee consisted of Johnson, Aber, Dunn, and Bevan of the first group, plus Sylvester Long, an L&N official.

When the library began regular operation and with a paid librarian, Mrs. Pearl Burnam was the first to serve. Other librarians to follow were Mrs. Charles Smith, Mrs. Una Campbell McElroy, Mrs. O.F. Brizendine, Miss Vannie Phillips, Mrs. Roy Holsclaw and Mrs. Roy D. Holsclaw. Mrs. Roy Holsclaw held the office for over 25 years before her death. Other librarians have been: Mrs. Gail Williams, and Mrs. Scott Huskey, and Mrs. Kathi Lester. Serving as librarian since September 1998 is Mrs. Joyce James. Assistant librarians have been Teresa Young, Pat Beaty, Elsie Moore, Marlene Schrock and Rachel Schrock.

In January of 2003 we were put on the National Register of Historic Places. This is a great honor for our city and our Library. This was the first step of a National Preservation grant for an elevator. The Southeast Development and Annie McDonald are instrumental in this project. Mr. Dave Joiner of Etowah drew the architectural plans that have been submitted. We regretfully did not receive the grant but will keep trying.

In 1902, the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) railroad planned a new, more direct route between Cincinnati and Atlanta bypassing the Hiwassee River Gorge and the Great Hiwassee Loop. Also needed was a new terminus for crew changes to service steam engines and serve at the Atlanta Division Headquarters. 1454 acres - for the main terminus (depot), maintenance and repair facilities (shops), railroad yards and proposed township to support the railroad workforce - were purchase at $10 to $20 per acre and the L&N set about reacting a major rail center and the town of Etowah.

In 1906, after the 25 muddy acres chosen for the yards, shops and main terminal were drained and raised 3.25 feet, the first building to be constructed was the Passenger Station/Office Building (L&N Depot) at a cost of $13,000.

The totally electrified railroad complex included: roundhouse, sandhouse, cinder pits, coal bin, four sets of movable coal chutes, turntable, oil house, machine shop, blacksmith shop, boiler shop, planing mill, cabinet shop, powerhouse, car repair shop, two water tanks, car scales, a store, an office, freight depot, 14 freight tracks and five repair tracks. At the close of 1906, the L&N Railroad had spent $200,000 on the complex construction.

In 1916, the present day Portico Room was added to the building to provide more office space for the engineering department. In 1927, there were more than 2000 men working in "the shops" and another 250 manning the trains that moved through Etowah daily - including 14 passenger trains. Today, of the original complex, only the Depot and tracks remain.

Up until the early 1920s, Etowah's railroad complex was active and thriving. In 1928 the L&N began replacing its wooden "rolling stock" with steel freight and passenger cars which forced the lay-off of 200 shopmen in Etowah. Also that year, the Atlanta and Knoxville division were combined and the Etowah offices were moved to Knoxville. In 1931, the Etowah shop force shrank from 2,100 to 80. In 1968, passenger service ended. In 1974, the Depot had outlived its purpose and it closed. The Depot had been used total of 68 years. Today, Etowah is still an active rail center. The track, located immediately adjacent to the Depot, is CSX Railroad's mainline from Cincinnati to Atlanta. The CSX Yard Office, where crew changes are made, is located just north and across the tracks from the L&N Depot.

In 1977 the process began with the Depot being placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The L&N agreed to sell the Depot property for $35,000 and to donate the building to the City of Etowah. The Tennessee Historic Commission pledged half of the purchase price with an understanding that the City of Etowah would raise the other half. The old freight depot was cannibalized for the project. The workforce came from the government sponsored Comprehensive Education Training Act (CETA). In 1981, after three years of hard work and $200,000 the fine old Depot was completely restored and once again opened.

The Depot houses a museum entitled, "Growing Up With The L&N: Life and Times in a Railroad Town," and the offices of the Etowah Area Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Tourism Association and the U.S. Forestry Service.

The building and grounds are often used for community holiday celebrations fairs and exhibits, weddings, club meetings, reunions, family gatherings, art and historical exhibitions, and classes/workshops.

Hiwassee River Rail Adventures - Passenger trains run on the Historic Old Line along the Hiwassee Scenic River, through the Cherokee National Forest, and then up and around the "Loop" in southeastern Tennessee! This fify mile, three hour roundtrip offers breathtaking views of the Hiwassee River Gorge and the famous "Loop", where the tracks cross over themselves as the train climbs Bald Mountain. Copperhill trips will also be available on certain dates. These ninety mile, seven hour roundtrips will include the "Loop" and then continue into Copperhill, Tennessee, with a layover for shopping or dining in the historic copper mining town. For tickets contact Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum by phone at 1-423-894-8028, Extension #0 or order online at www.tvrail.com. Walk up tickets may be purchased, depending on availability, at the L&N Depot and Musuem, 727 Tennessee Ave. in Etowah, TN 37331.

No one knows for sure, but folklore tells us this: A train crew coming from Atlanta, picked up a sign from the muddy Etowah River and posted it at the new muddy site of the Atlanta Division Headquarters and the name remained. The word Etowah comes from a Creek word meaning "tribe" or "town."

This information is from the local history book, "Growing Up With the L&N: Life and Times in a Railroad Town."

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