Tazewell County Public Library - Richlands Branch

History:

Beginning in the 1960s, Freya Dalton voluntarily operated a station library in a building she owned on Washington Square in Richlands.  She provided many books herself and gathered donations from the community to stock this library.  Building on her early work, the Richlands Area Friends of the Library, formed in the early 1980s under the leadership of Dr. John C. Willis, worked ceaselessly to obtain a library in the community.  The Friends acquired the Dr. W. R. Williams house on Suffolk Avenue, and privately raised the funds to renovate it.  Constructed in 1890 for the offices of Clinch Valley Coal and Iron Company, this building later became the residence and hospital of Dr. W. R. Williams.  In 1983, the Williams family donated this property, listed on the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register, to the Town of Richlands for use as a library.  This facility opened 1 October 1984.  Architect for the renovation of this building was Cameron Wolfe and contractor was Henry Nickels, Inc.  It was first known as the Western District Branch, then as the Maiden Spring Branch and, now, as the Richlands Branch of Tazewell County Public Library.