Andrew Carnegie: Contributed $12,500 to help fund construction of the Public Library's own building, the Carnegie Library in 1904.
Tad and Jane Shephard: Gave $500,000 to aid the funding of the Modern Library; this donation allowed the area of the building to be what it currently is, at 50,000 square feet
Mrs. Theda Clark Peters: Relinquished her ownership of the land between the Fox River and Wisconsin Avenue, which has been the home of the Public Library since 1904, to allow for a location of the Carnegie Library and subsequent Library buildings.
Robert Shiells: President of the Neenah Subscription Library; wrote letters to Andrew Carnegie asking to furnish the funds for a Neenah Library. At first Carnegie denied because he said "A town with so much wealth could well build their own building." But after a lot of pushing from Robert Sheills, Carnegie decided to donate the money to build a new library.
- Carnegie donated over $56,162,622 to English speaking countries around the world and $40,000,000 to libraries around the U.S. He is known as the "Patron Saint of Libraries"
- Out of 1,679 libraries constructed due to Carnegie in the U.S., 63 of them were built in Wisconsin, Neenah being one of them.
Tad and Jane Shephard: Gave $500,000 to aid the funding of the Modern Library; this donation allowed the area of the building to be what it currently is, at 50,000 square feet
Mrs. Theda Clark Peters: Relinquished her ownership of the land between the Fox River and Wisconsin Avenue, which has been the home of the Public Library since 1904, to allow for a location of the Carnegie Library and subsequent Library buildings.
Robert Shiells: President of the Neenah Subscription Library; wrote letters to Andrew Carnegie asking to furnish the funds for a Neenah Library. At first Carnegie denied because he said "A town with so much wealth could well build their own building." But after a lot of pushing from Robert Sheills, Carnegie decided to donate the money to build a new library.
Sources:
PBS website
Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc. website
Neenah Citizen, 21 April 2000
A History of Neenah, S.F. Shattuck, pgs. 358-360
PBS website
Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc. website
Neenah Citizen, 21 April 2000
A History of Neenah, S.F. Shattuck, pgs. 358-360