Library History

Appomattox County Library had its beginning in 1936. It was a circulating library that contained 7,226 volumes for whites and 6,045 volumes for black patrons, deposited in fifteen loan stations in private homes throughout the county. When the Library opened it was affiliated directly with the county schools.

The Library was made possible by David K. Bruce. Mr. Bruce was a member of the Maryland legislature and the Virginia House of Delegates and served as ambassador to three nations: Great Britain, Germany, and France. He was also a lawyer, a writer, a farmer, and a member of the Virginia State Library Board of Trustees.

As a patron of the arts, Mr. Bruce wanted to create a "true university" through private financing of libraries in eleven counties. Each county received between twenty-five and forty thousand dollars. The school board was responsible for the maintenance and operation of the library in Appomattox. This Library was the only Bruce Library not recognized by the state as a public library.

On May 24, 1939 the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors met to consider hiring a county librarian. They pooled resources with the Appomattox Town Council and the Superintendent of Schools to pay for a county librarian. It was decided a library would be built near the high school and the school board would control the Library. On April 12, 1940 the new library opened. The schools associated with the library were Appomattox County High School, Pamplin High School, and Carver Training School.

A reception was held from eight o'clock to eleven o'clock P.M. on the opening evening. Dignitaries at the event included C. W. Dickson Jr., Director of State Libraries, Judge J. W. Flood, Senator Charles T. Moses, and Don Moses, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.