Historical Black NC Library Needs Help
Donation protected
A historical Black library in a small southern town needs your help.
On June 3 the Stony Knoll library in Mill Spring NC was vandalized and books, shelves, and property were damaged. The building and contents were not insured.
Your generous donations will go towards the recovery, repair, restoration, and reinstatement of the Stony Knoll Library and Community Center.
The Stony Knoll Library was formed in 1937 by Della Jackson, a Black woman who worked in Adult Education through the Works Progress Administration. At the time it was the only library that Black people could use. The library grew from 90 volumes in 1937 to over 20,000. The books themselves are of historical importance, including a first edition copy of Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli, which was the first children's book to address the divisive issue of racial prejudice, a daring topic for a children's book of that time.
Ms. Sandra Forney, Mrs. Jackson's granddaughter, and her family are the current caretakers of the Stony Knoll Library.
The building, begun in 1939, is made of hand-poured cement blocks; the cement created on-site with water brought on a horse-drawn wagon from a nearby creek by the barrelfuls. Learn More About Stony Knoll
In addition to the damage wrought by vandals, a lack of sustainable funding has recently caused the building to go into disrepair. These situations have left the library in dire need of support. Immediate funding is needed to secure the building, replace damaged windows and doors, finish the paperwork to create a 501c(3), possibly establish the building on the National Register of Historic Places, secure an on-site storage facility in which to store books and materials until the building can be renovated, and repair the volumes of historical significance that can be saved.
Longer-term needs include renovations to the building, adjacent buildings, and clean-up of the grounds, and a sustaining fund to cover county and state property taxes and upkeep.
Future plans include reopening the library as a museum, community center, and historical site along an as-yet-unnamed Polk County Black History corridor to include the Nina Simone birthplace, the historical Tryon Theater with its Jim Crow balcony, the slave auction block on the courthouse lawn, and other locations.
Updates to the specific goals and objectives will be posted here and shared on the Facebook page for the Stony Knoll Historical Library Support Page: fb.me/stonyknollsupport.
On June 3 the Stony Knoll library in Mill Spring NC was vandalized and books, shelves, and property were damaged. The building and contents were not insured.
Your generous donations will go towards the recovery, repair, restoration, and reinstatement of the Stony Knoll Library and Community Center.
The Stony Knoll Library was formed in 1937 by Della Jackson, a Black woman who worked in Adult Education through the Works Progress Administration. At the time it was the only library that Black people could use. The library grew from 90 volumes in 1937 to over 20,000. The books themselves are of historical importance, including a first edition copy of Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli, which was the first children's book to address the divisive issue of racial prejudice, a daring topic for a children's book of that time.
Ms. Sandra Forney, Mrs. Jackson's granddaughter, and her family are the current caretakers of the Stony Knoll Library.
The building, begun in 1939, is made of hand-poured cement blocks; the cement created on-site with water brought on a horse-drawn wagon from a nearby creek by the barrelfuls. Learn More About Stony Knoll
In addition to the damage wrought by vandals, a lack of sustainable funding has recently caused the building to go into disrepair. These situations have left the library in dire need of support. Immediate funding is needed to secure the building, replace damaged windows and doors, finish the paperwork to create a 501c(3), possibly establish the building on the National Register of Historic Places, secure an on-site storage facility in which to store books and materials until the building can be renovated, and repair the volumes of historical significance that can be saved.
Longer-term needs include renovations to the building, adjacent buildings, and clean-up of the grounds, and a sustaining fund to cover county and state property taxes and upkeep.
Future plans include reopening the library as a museum, community center, and historical site along an as-yet-unnamed Polk County Black History corridor to include the Nina Simone birthplace, the historical Tryon Theater with its Jim Crow balcony, the slave auction block on the courthouse lawn, and other locations.
Updates to the specific goals and objectives will be posted here and shared on the Facebook page for the Stony Knoll Historical Library Support Page: fb.me/stonyknollsupport.
Organizer
Susannah Somers Hogan
Organizer
Mill Spring, NC
