The story of the ‘Free Public Library’

Linda’a Monday Morning Moaning’s

The ‘Romeo Free Public Library’, was a story, I found most interesting and wanted to share the research I had found about this great library.

Samuel and Nancy Kezar, from Turner, New York lived in a Queen Anne style home on Church Street in Romeo, that they built in 1894. Samuel passed away in Romeo in 1898. The Kezar home at 180 Church Street is where the Romeo Public Library, Romeo Book Club and the Romeo Monday Club would organize in 1900 and run through 1908. Nancy and her daughter Mary eventually moved to San Francisco, where Mrs. Kezar would come into an inheritance and remember their time in Romeo. They came up with a plan through their agent to give a library building to the village of Romeo.

A local contractor Archibald H. Robertson, built the library according to a design by the well known architect Henry Whitfield of New York. Mr. Whitfield had been directed that the general appearance be ‘home like’ and imitate and ‘old English Inn’. Six directors were elected to the Board of Trustees for two year staggered terms. A lot was secured on the corner of Church Street and North Main. The deed contained a proviso that this gift would revert to the heirs of the Kezar’s if and when the property was no longer used for library purposes.

In 1911, the building was dedicated in a public ceremony, and the library received a gift of $1000. worth of books from Henry Glover Stephens, a Detroit collector, past Romeo resident and philanthropist to augment the 871 books already in its collection. The library would later become the ‘Romeo Free Public Library’. The library acquired its third name in 1969 when the Romeo District Library was formed by resolution of the Romeo village council and the Bruce and Washington Township Boards. Two addition Board members were appointed that summer to represent each of the three municipalities.

The need to expand the library collection and facilities was soon recognized and fund raising campaign to pay for an addition was started. The ground breaking ceremony for $154,000. addition which would triple the size of the library when held on March 21, 1970.

Roland Graubner served on the library Board from 1969 till 1999, he would help secure the federal grant for the addition to the Kezar Library and personally raise the money needed for the local share of the project. Later Roland and his wife Kathleen wold donate 6.7 acres of orchard land on Van Dyke Road between Romeo and Washington for construction of a new library building, to be called the Romeo District, Graubner Branch dedicated in 2001. The Community Archives would open to the public in the lower level of the Kezar Brach in 2017.

If you haven’t already paid a visit to the Romeo branch of the library, it is well worth the visit to see what Nancy and her daughter Mary envisioned all those years ago, where the same ‘home like’ feeling is still the major part of what makes this library such a hit for the community.

On that ‘wee note’, till next week.

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Courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives, Romeo District Library.

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