Lemon City Branch Library
Coordinates: 25°49′56.1″N 80°11′13.7″W / 25.832250°N 80.187139°W The Lemon City Library is the oldest library within the Miami-Dade Public Library System. The historic library opened its doors to the public on April 7, 1894 and began as a modest reading room and has remained a thriving community resource for over a hundred years.
The creation of the Lemon City Library is credited to the Lemon City Library and Improvement Association which decided to establish a reading room inside the front of Cornelia Keyes' cottage, located at 701 NE 62nd Street. Keyes, who was originally from Chicago, owned the prestigious Lemon City Hotel and also taught school. On April 7, 1894, Keyes opened the doors of her modest library to the small community of 350 residents.
In 1902 the Lemon City Library moved into its first, dedicated building made of wood planks, which was located at 412 NE 61st Street. This location served the patrons of the surrounding area for 62 years.
In the early days, the Lemon City Library's first collection consisted of contributions from many illustrious donators. Andrew Carnegie, who docked his yacht near Lemon City, was said to have donated a small assortment of volumes. Charles B. Cory, the curator of the Field Columbian Museum in Chicago, was also said to have gifted a few dozen volumes while he was in the area for one of his annual Everglades safaris. Henry Flagler, the founder of the Florida East Coast Railway, was also said to have donated generously to the cause.
Similarly to many libraries of the time, a majority of the work done to develop and sustain a community library was done so by a group of local women whose goal it was to create betterment in the community. Thirteen women came together on the day the library first opened its doors, and pledged to pay ten cents in monthly dues, donate a book to the collection, and take a book home in order to stimulate the use of the library. Unlike other local communities who had the support of a woman's club which supported many local endeavors, in Lemon City, these thirteen women joined together to create the Lemon City Library Association on February 4, 1902. This association of volunteers were constantly fundraising through community socials to raise money needed to add titles and later build its first dedicated building. In the first three years, they were able to raise $683.46, the equivalent to over $18,000 today. All of this money went towards building the library, which opened its doors in 1905 with 346 titles.
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