History:
The Transylvania County Library was founded in 1912 by the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The library's collection began with the gift of 300 books willed to the city of Brevard by W. Lowndes Hume, the son of Robert W. Hume, a Confederate veteran and prominent Charlestonian. The original library building was purchased by the U.D.C. at public auction and had been constructed as the club house of a failed development called the Appalachian Club Estates. The small green frame structure stood immediately east of the Courthouse, on property owned by the County. In 1956, the brick building beside the Courthouse which now houses the County's Administrative Offices, was erected as a new library and the little green "cottage" was demolished.
The Transylvania County Library moved to the corner of South Broad and Morgan streets in 1974. Constructed in 1940, and dedicated as a United States Post Office in 1941, this building is a typical example of WPA civic architecture. The building's heritage is also reflected in the Pietro Lazzari mural "Good News" which depicts a rural mountain scene and the arrival of the postman. Substantial renovation took place to make the building ready for library service, including the addition of the north end. The Children's Department and the Sarah Keels Tilson Historical Room were dedicated in 1986.
The Library moved to its new home at 212 South Gaston Street in May of 2006. The new library has 35,000 square feet of space for a variety of features including a community room, a local history room that contains the county archives, a reference area with 24 public computers, a young adult area, popular browsing area, and children's area.
