Carnegie Library
Built in 1917 to make reading and learning accessible for Knoxville's Black Community
A Library for the People
Carnegie Library, opened in 1917, was Knoxville's public library for Black people. Located at 405 East Vine Avenue, it was built under the leadership of Charles Warner Cansler and with funds from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation in which the library was named after.
The library operated for 44 years and provided free access to books, newspapers, periodicals, and a gathering space for the Black community.
The need for a library
Carnegie Library's Establishment
In Charles W. Cansler's 1939 autobiography, "Three Generations: The Story of a Colored Family of Eastern Tennessee, he recounted how the "colored people of our city were deprived of any access to a library." Black people could not go to Knoxville's Lawson McGhee Library, which opened in 1885 and didn't integrate until 1950. With the determination for the Black community to have a library, Cansler convinced Mayor Samuel G. Heiskell to write a letter to the Andrew Carnegie Foundation to help secure the funds necessary to build a public library for Black people in Knoxville.
In 1917, The Carnegie Foundation gifted $10, 000 to help with the library's establishment in which the city approved. The City Commission assisted the project by selecting and purchasing a site for the building. They chose for the library to be erected on the property located at the intersection of Vine Avenue and Nelson Street. Albert B. Baumann served as the primary architect for this endeavor.
The night time dedication ceremony for Carnegie Library was held May 6, 1918 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, two blocks east from the library. Following the ceremony, the doors to Carnegie were opened for the public to come and inspect the new building. Between 800 and 1,000 attended and visited the library.
Patrons of the Carnegie Library engaged with a wide range of reading materials, from works by influential writers such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and James Weldon Johnson to popular fiction by authors like Julia Peterkin. Periodicals including The Crisis, Negro History, and Southern Negro were kept in regular circulation. Poetry, romance, mystery, and adventure stories were especially popular among younger readers, while practical instructional books on carpentry, plumbing, repair work, poultry raising, and catering supported everyday needs and helped many community members build valuable skills.
Carnegie Library, 405 Vine Avenue
Education, Advocacy, and Community
Beyond its role as a public library, Carnegie Library was often used as a meeting ground for social and civic groups. In 1919, the Knoxville NAACP branch was formed during a meeting at the library. That same year, the Colored Women's Political League was formed during a meeting inside the library's auditorium. An October 8, 1933, Knoxville News-Sentinel article noted that the Carnegie Library hosted groups such as the Minister’s Alliance, girls’ reading clubs, boys’ debate teams, and choir rehearsals, reflecting its role as a vibrant community gathering space.
Left: The Journal and Tribune
Wednesday, August 06, 1919
Carnegie Library at a Glance in 1929
These numbers were published in the Knoxville Negro, a 1929 publication by Bartrow G. Wilson which provided a glimpse of Black life in Knoxville during the early 20th century.
200
Seating Capacity
17, 000
Books, Magazines, Newspapers, and Other Periodicals
367, 180
Average Circulation of Books
15
Clubs and Organizations That Meet Weekly at the Library
Left to right: Mrs. S. Juanita Long-Carr; Miss Mary Miller, Carnegie's First Librarian; Mrs, Eloise Bruce, Assistant Librarian; interior of Carnegie Library
1961
A Great Loss to the Community
Services at the Carnegie Library ended in 1961. Although declining usage was cited as a contributing factor, the Urban Renewal Project (1959–1974) played a decisive role in the library’s dissolution. The building was identified as lying in the path of a planned roadway extension, and following the integration of Lawson McGhee Library in 1950, city officials moved toward permanent closure. No plans were made to replace the Carnegie Library after Urban Renewal, resulting in the permanent loss of a vital community institution.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel,
September 01, 1961
