History:
In 1986, Montgomery County Commissioners Court appointed a task force of Willis area citizens to study the need for a community library in Willis. There was such a tremendous response from the community that a group within the Task Force formed the Friends of the Willis Library (FOWL) to provide a temporary library. Donations of books, supplies, and office equipment from the community immediately followed and the new library set up business in a vacant house staffed by volunteers and members of FOWL. It soon became apparent to Commissioners Court that a branch library was indeed needed in Willis.
With donations and grants obtained from FOWL (including a Library Services and Construction Act grant for $100,000) and monies from Pct. 1 Commissioner Martin, construction on the present 6,400 square foot building began in 1990 on 1.25 acres of land on FM 1097 just east of I-45. Opening in April of 1991 with a staff of three part-time assistants and the branch manager, the R. F. Meador Branch Library boasted a total of 4,391 volumes, the majority of which were donated. 1,003 patrons visited the library that first month.
The library was named after Ruth Frances Smith Meador, who graduated from Willis High School in 1915 and later was a longtime teacher in the Willis school district and at First Baptist Church of Willis.
The library is still in its original building, but has reconfigured furniture and walls to accommodate patrons and advances in technology. Since it first opened, the library has continually updated and increased its holdings and currently has 55,951 items.
