Formerly opened on February 8, 1908, the Carnegie Library of Honea Path was later incorporated into the Anderson County Library System and renamed for Miss Jenny Erwin who was one of those credited in helping Honea Path secure the library.  Legend says that Honea Path is the smallest town to receive funds to construct a Carnegie Library.  The known fact is that it is the smallest town in the State of South Carolina to build such a library. The Library is listed on the National Historic Register.

Hours: 

Monday - 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.   and   2 - 8 p.m.

Tuesday and Thursday   9 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

and  2 - 8 p.m.

Wednesday and Saturday 9 a..m.  - 1p.m.   

and   2-3:30p.m.

Friday  9 a.m.  - 1 p.m.     2 - 6 p.m.

Cheryl Hughes, Librarian

The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. For more information on how to nominate a property to the National Register, visit our Listing a property page.

One hundred years after the Honea Path Library was founded, residents still marvel at school teacher Jennie Erwin’s decision to write Andrew Carnegie asking for a library grant for the small town.

Mr. Carnegie, one of the most influential men of the time, sold his business, United States Steel Corp., for $200 million and used the money to build libraries. Mr. Carnegie never answered Ms. Erwin’s request, so she asked then-Mayor John Humbert to write a letter instead.

That one got a response, and because of it nearly 100 people were celebrating in Honea Path on Sunday.

“It shows you that you can do what you want to do if you have the fortitude to do it,” state Sen. Billy O’Dell, R-Ware Shoals, said during a presentation at the library’s 100th birthday party.

Ms. Erwin went on to donate $1,000, the equivalent of nearly $21,000 today, for the library books and shelves. The library was renamed Jennie Erwin Library in her honor when it was accepted into the Anderson County Library System in 1958.

Even after two renovations, signs of the early library are still visible — the fireplace in the front room, a handwritten ledger of books checked out around 1958 and a framed photo of the original library under construction.

“When I came to Anderson County, this building was 67 years old,” said Carl Stone, director of the Anderson County Library System. “I’m now 67 years old, and I hope something can renovate me.”

Nearly everyone at Sunday’s event had a story about their connection to the building.

Anna Nims, 83, remembers growing up next door to the library, often getting a book, reading it in one day and running back for a new one before the library closed.

When Mrs. Nims was 10, she said the librarian called her mother to ask if she was too young to start reading Grace Livingston Hill’s books — which could at times be romantic — because she had already read all the children’s books.

State Rep. Mike Gambrell, R-Honea Path, joked that Ms. Callaham, the librarian when he was growing up, tricked him into enjoying reading.

Rep. Gambrell admits he hated to read growing up, but his parents would take him to the library once a week. Ms. Callaham got him started reading one book a week, then asked him to read two a week, and by the end of the summer he was up to eight books a week.

“I’ve always remembered that,” Rep. Gambrell said.

Thanks to a group of Honea Path Middle School eighth-graders, future generations will also understand the library’s history. The students worked before and after school for the entire second semester researching the library’s beginnings to create a small history book for the occasion.

The books, along with T-shirts and Friends of Anderson County Library System magnets, were sold to commemorate the occasion. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Honea Path Library Association, which still gives the $500 a year Mr. Carnegie required to run the library.

By Heidi Cenac

Anderson Independent

Monday, May 21, 2007