SILVERHILL LIBRARY
Sketch of the Oscar Johnson Memorial Library
by Tom Sangster in 1988.
The building that is now Silverhill's Oscar Johnson Memorial Library was once the real estate office for the central Baldwin area. The second structure built in Silverhill, completed June 1898, funded by the Svea Land Company, was called the "Land Company Office". Oscar Johnson owned the building, using it as his real estate office for the sale of land to the families moving into the area.
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Shown here soon after its completion in 1898, the second structure
built in Silverhill was used as a school, real estate office, church, and now a library.
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Location: On 6th Street behind the Baptist Church parking area (town block 22, lots 7-8).
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From its very beginning the building was partitioned and used as the Silverhill School, but because of the fast growth of the Silverhill community, the 1903-1904 school year was the last time the large group of Swedish children could fit into the building. The school term of 1904-1905, while a schoolhouse was under construction, was held in the Baptist Church. A new two-story school was ready for the children October 1, 1905. |
This photograph was featured on the front cover of the March 1902 issue of Silverhill Nyheter, the Silverhill Newsletter printed in Swedish. Twenty-three school children are shown standing outside of their school with their teacher. Click photo to enlarge.
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Interesting fact: The Oscar Johnson Memorial Library is now the oldest building in Silverhill.
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On Sundays, the office was used for church services for the various Swedish denominations until they could each build their own sanctuaries.
This photograph taken about 1899, shows the members of one of the Swedish church congregations after their worship service. Click photo to enlarge.
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In 1906, Miss Mildred Hall, a teacher at the Silverhill School, organized the Non Pariel Club that sponsored the town library. The books they gathered for the public to borrow where kept on shelves in the bell tower room of the two-story Silverhill School building. The book collection remained at the school until the 1920s, when they were moved to the Oscar Johnson Land Company Office, the present-day library.
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The ladies of the Non Pariel Club, a social club for young ladies in Silverhill, who will be remembered for organizing the Silverhill Library. Missing from the photo seems to be its founder, Miss Mildred Hall. - Click photo to enlarge.
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The Non Pariel Club about 1908
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Front row, seated, left to right: Mabel Wallen, Esther Johnson Swanstrom, Anna Linder Andersen, Anna Norden Rogers;
Middle row, standing, left to right: Hilda Sundberg, Ragna Forland Christiansen, Pearl Campbell Noonan (of Bay Minette), Vera Johnson Armstrong, Laura Wallen, Nell Slosson Boise;
Back row, standing, left to right: Agnes Johnson Utter, Judith Lundquist (of Chicago), Mary Feminear Killebrew (of Bay Minette), Lois Slosson Sundberg, Mildred Johnson Elliott. Click to Enlarge.
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Photos of the Library taken in the mid 1970s.
Oscar Johnson Memorial Library
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Oscar Johnson Memorial Library
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Oscar Johnson Memorial Library
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Silverhill Library Website
Associated Press Story of Elsie Chandler
The Independent Article
on the Library
The Independent Article
on the Library Wing Dedication
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