The Denny Ashby Library
Three years passed before a library was started. The city eventually relegated that responsibility to the Civic Club, with the club agreeing to finance and operate the library for a term of five years, and the city agreeing to pay for the upkeep of the building.
On June 1, 1928, Mrs. J.T. Ledgerwood opened the library, using her own books as the library's first collection. The Civic Club operated the library until 1935, when it could no longer meet the financial burden. At that time, the city leased the building to the county, and a library board was established.
Until April of 1999, half of the building served as the librarian's living quarters. In the winter of 2002-2003 the residential half of the building was remodeled to better serve library purposes with funding from the Shepherd Foundation. The remodel was done under the supervision of Rich Cardwell from the Seattle firm, Cardwell Architects. Rich, whose firm was awarded an AIA/ALA Library Building Award in 2003 for work on the University of Washington's Suzzallo Library, was born in Pomeroy and donated his time to the Denny Ashby Library remodel project.
The library currently houses a collection of over 10,000 books and assorted multimedia items.
Mission:
The mission of the Denny Ashby Library is to inspire lifelong learning, promote literacy, and strengthen community in Garfield County.
