David S. Walker Library

The David S. Walker Library was a private subscription library in Tallahassee, Florida. It was organized as the University Library in 1883. It is now a historic library building named for Governor David S. Walker, the eighth governor of Florida, who served from 1865 through 1868.[2] It is located 209 East Park Avenue. On June 22, 1976, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The library building is one of 65 Leon County properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]

David S. Walker Library
David S. Walker Library
LocationTallahassee, Florida
Coordinates30°26′29″N 84°16′49″W
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No.76000600[1]
Added to NRHPJune 22, 1976

In 2018, it has no book collection nor has for many years, nor has it any library function, since the founding of the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library in 1956.

The library building has served as the meeting place for the board of Springtime Tallahassee since 1977.

History

David Shelby Walker was a native of Kentucky when he moved to Tallahassee, Florida in 1837.[4] He served as the eighth governor of Florida. Walker was elected governor of Florida after the Civil War ended. The country was recovering from the aftermath of the Civil War and so it was a tough time in office. Despite the turmoil, Walker's efforts to establish public education in Florida were a great achievement. While Walker was in office, in 1884, he offered two rooms for a library in a building he owned. Donations were raised by the community to buy books and create a reading room that was open to the public.[5] After Walker's death, the building was sold and Walker's wife donated the lot to the library association and the building was named in honor of Walker and his support for education and libraries. The Walker Library served as a library from 1903 to 1956, after which the library moved to the Columns.

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See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/261386
  3. Ensley, Gerald (April 21, 2016). "Next chapter for walker library". Tallahassee Democrat. ProQuest 1782920772.
  4. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/04/20/historic-walker-librarys-future-secure/83302554/
  5. https://tallahasseehistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/THS-Vol-2-2.pdf


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