Where In the World Has the Library Been in Columbia?
On November 18, 2025, CoMo Preservation and the Daniel Boone Regional Library co-hosted a presentation by Tim Dollens. Dollens explained that the Daniel Boone Regional Library was established in 1959, but the story of Columbia’s library started in the 1800s when the Columbia community decided that there was a need and started a library! In 1846, Dr. A.W. Rollins instructed in his will that he was leaving an encyclopedia to the Columbia library if the library trustees added 500 more books. In 1858 the Columbia Library Association was incorporated by a group including Thomas B. Gentry, James S. Rollins, David H. Hickman, and Robert Levi Todd. They set membership dues at $2.00. Gentry was the son of Richard Gentry and Anne Hawkins Gentry, Columbia’s first woman postmaster. He served as librarian while the library was housed in the courtroom of the Boone County Courthouse.
Photo courtesy of: State Historical Society of Missouri.
However, during the Civil War while soldiers occupied the court room many of the books were lost or badly damaged. After the war the library association reorganized with the library in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church at the SE corner of Broadway and Tenth Street, where we now have a student apartment building.
Photo courtesy of: State Historical Society of Missouri.
Dollens explained that the library experienced a lot of challenges including fires and reorganizations over the next few decades. In the 1870s there was discussion of closing the library but others urged the community to keep the library open. For a time the library was kept in the home of G.W. Trimble. In 1898, a free reading room was established in what had been a doctor’s office on Broadway. In 1899, women of Columbia in the Tuesday Club requested book donations for the “new” free library. In 1901, the library lost some books and chairs due to a fire in the Haden Opera House on the north side of Broadway between Ninth & Tenth Street. In 1904, the library was housed in an upstairs room at the corner of Broadway and Tenth but by 1905, it was housed in a room in the Guitar building on Eighth Street between Broadway and Walnut. The library moved into the “new” Courthouse when it was opened in 1909 but outgrew the space available and moved into the Howard Municipal Building. When the library outgrew that space it moved to the old Columbia Post Office just to the east on Seventh Street and Broadway in 1938 where it remained until 1970. This building is known as the “Gentry” Building, in recognition of Anne Hawkins Gentry who was Columbia’s second post master.
We are all so grateful for our local library and all the resources it offers our community that help keep Columbia’s stories and spirit alive.
Check out our Archives for past meeting notes, slides, video, etc.
Photo courtesy of: Dennis Fitgerald.
CoMo Preservation is devoted to helping homeowners, landlords, and institutions prevent the destruction of historic architecture. Original period styles might be replicated, but will forever lack the social history of authentic structures. The preservation of historic places and spaces gives people a sense of place and boosts Columbia’s economy. You can get involved by becoming a member, volunteering, signing up for our newsletter attending an event, or donating.
Questions? Suggestions for speakers or events? Email CoMoPreservation@gmail.com
