Founded in 1891 by Eugene Ware, the Fort Scott Public Library has long served as a key resource for the Fort Scott, Kansas community. Evolving from its origins as the Ware Public Library, it now operates as one of Kansas’s oldest Carnegie Libraries still in the original building. Dedicated to providing books, educational materials, and services for all ages, the library continues to adapt by expanding its use of technology and adding new programs, making it a welcoming community hub for Fort Scott and Bourbon County, Kansas residents.

• 1883-The Library Association was founded in Fort Scott.
• 1891- Eugene Ware established the Ware Public Library in Fort Scott. Mr. Ware uses the front of his law office as the library space. It was located at 113 Market Street, Fort Scott, where it stayed until the fall of 1892. The annual membership cost for the library was $4.
• 1893- The Ware Public Library opens at the Redfield Building on Wall St.
• 1894- Ware donated his library collection to the City of Fort Scott, and the citizens voted to establish a free Fort Scott Public Library to be maintained by the taxpayers. The new library board votes to stay in the Redfield building at a monthly rent of $25. Mary Barlow made the first librarian of the Fort Scott Public Library.
• 1901- Andrew Carnegie donated $18,000 for the construction of a library building.
• 1902- Fort Scott Public Library construction starts. The building is designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style.
• 1904- The library is opened sometime in February.
• 1911- Hitching posts removed from the front of the library.
• 1918- The Library sent over 700 books, short stories, and boxes to the troops at the front during WWI.
• 1923- Mary Barlow retires from the Fort Scott Library after 32 years. She had also been the librarian for the Ware Public Library.
• 1936- A Children’s area was made in the library
• 1942- The library donated 1,137 books to the Victory Book Campaign during WWII.
• 1965- The library joins the Southeast Kansas Library System. This provides the library with access to interlibrary loans and rotating collections.
• 1973- The library was deeded to the city of Fort Scott.
• 1987- The library is placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Kansas State Historical Society as a historic Carnegie Library.
• 1990- The Library card catalog is put on a computer.
• 2013- Fort Scott Public Library joined the SEKnFind consortium, a group of 52 Southeast Kansas libraries. This gives access to the catalogs and collections of all these libraries, expanding services to patrons.
• 2014- Fort Scott Public Library joined the Sunflower/Libby eLibrary consortium, giving our patrons access to eBooks and audiobooks.
• 2016- The library temporarily moved into the old City Hall offices in Memorial Hall, so that the library building could undergo a major renovation.
• 2017- In April, the library reopened in the newly remodeled original Carnegie Building, giving longevity to the building, ensuring it will be there for future generations.
• 2025- The library has a newly redesigned library website to serve our patrons better online. The library was also rearranged to accommodate new services and the relocation of the children’s room and computers.

Building on the Past, Celebrating the Present, Working Toward the Future, Knowledge, Technology, and People—

Your Fort Scott Public Library