Everett’s Library Beginnings: The Everett Woman’s Book Club

The town of Everett had scarcely incorporated when its growth was halted by a national depression, the Panic of 1893. Many investors withdrew support, businesses collapsed and a small populace of about 5,000 was left to deal with the hard times.

On June 10, 1894, a group of local women met in the home of Mary Lincoln Brown to form a Women’s Book Club that would have as its broad aim the improvement of the mind through the study of literature, but more specifically, the establishment of a public library.

Gathering books and petitioning City Council when funds were scarce, the Everett Women’s Book Club set up a temporary library in the home of a member, and in 1898 the city offered them three rooms in City Hall. Thus, library service began. The Club continued to work for permanent quarters, next moving to a small building, and in 1905 received a Carnegie grant to design an official library for the city of Everett. Throughout its history, the Everett Women’s Book Club has worked to support library collections and services.