The city's first attempt at building a Carnegie library came in 1901, but it could not secure funding to match Carnegie's $20,000 grant; later in the decade, it approved additional community funding and convinced Carnegie to supply an additional $5,000.

Chicago architects Patton & Miller, who were well known for their work on Carnegie libraries, designed the Classical Revival building.

The library's design includes an entrance flanked by four stone columns and topped by a portico, stone pilasters to either side of the front windows, and a classical entablature with a frieze and dentillated cornice.

[2] The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2006.

This article about a property in Henry County, Illinois on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.