The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-05-16
PICTURES OF DAM
IN THE LIBRARY
Progress Of the Work viii be Shown
in Big Glass Case Placed In
Center Of Reading
Room.
DONATED BY COMPANY
Photographic Record Of the keokuk Of
Just Before the Dam Already
Installed in Historical
Department.


struction of the big water power is
being written in photographs in the
Keokuk public library.
The water power company is fur
nishing the library with file o. the
official photographs showing the pro-
gross of the work day by day. These
will finally be preserved in albums in
the historical department of the H.
brary for reference by future students
of the evolution OF keokuk and of the
construction of the big dam and elcc-
trio installation here.
During the present time Of The
building of the water power, sufficient
of these photographs to show the pro-
gress and character of the work will
be exhibited in large frame in the
center of the reading room OF the
library. Here visitors to the library
may see the building of the dam pro-
gress quite as well as by frequent
visits to the inside OF the construc-
ton works perhaps better, as every
photograph is labeled exactly what
part of the work it shows.
All this is done as donation from
the water power company. At once
when the desirability OF these photo
graphs was suggested to the company,
it offered to furnish not only file Of
pictures but the albums ard to do
work in connection with them which
was much more than had been asked
DR.. G. Walter Barr, chairman of the
donation committee. has been active
during the last year in attempts to
put the historical department of the
public library on sane and high
plane. While it is not desired that
the library be made the storage place
or old junk which people want to get
rid of, everything which Is of real
historical value as indicating the real
history of keokuk, is eagerly sought
after. Recently, piano, represent.
ing really important part of the evo-
luton of musical instruments, was
placed in the library by the kindness
oil George O. IIigham, its owner. This
instrument was earnestly sought by
the state historical department and a
museum in New York Charles j.
Smith, for his mother, deposited the
battlefas a Keokuk company carried
IN the civil war
Recording keokuk for the Future.
What is considered one of the most
important historical documents in the
keokuk library is collection of over
thousand photographs of Keokuk as
~ was in 1910 the end of an era in
It's history.
these photographs are of business
houses and residences in Keokuk,
each labeled with the street and num-
Der designating it's exact location The
whole collection will enablo the Keo-
kukians of the future to see exactly
the appearance OF almost any block in
the year before the dam was built
comparison of given, lot in 1850, and
the photograph of the same lot in
1910. ought to be interesting to the
residents of the greater Keokuk of tie
middle OF the twentieth century.
me trustees say that they are wor-
fied by their lack OF room they are
housing a library in one-fourth the
space usually given to libraries of this
SIZE. not to sreak of the room de,
Manded by the most valuable oil the
historical exhibits. Many of these lat
Yer are stored 9. present and must be
tskeu for to be seen. But the photo
graphs Of the big dam, as il is build
ins' VIII lie put where everybody may
thSpect and study them
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