Cattermole Memorial Library

Cattermole Memorial Library
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
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Location	614 7th St. Fort Madison, Iowa
Coordinates	40°37′53″N 91°18′34″W / 40.63139°N 91.30944°W / 40.63139; -91.30944
Built	1893-1894
Built by	J.C. Sunderland
Architectural style	Richardsonian Romanesque
Part of	Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District (ID07000852)
MPS	Public Library Buildings in Iowa TR
NRHP reference No.	84001267[1]
Added to NRHP	April 5, 1984

Cattermole Memorial Library is a historic building located in Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In 2007 it was included as a contributing property in the Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District.^[1]

The first library in Fort Madison was a reading room established in the late 1870s by the White Ribbon Society, a local temperance group. It grew to such an extent that by 1884 the City Circulation Library was founded.^[2] This collection formed the nucleus of what would become the Cattermole Memorial Library in the next decade. Elizabeth Cattermole funded the construction of the building as a memorial for her husband Henry. He had made his fortune in pork packing and banking. Henry had stipulated in his will that $10,000 be used to build a training school. It was an insufficient amount of money to build the school so the money was set aside. Elizabeth recognized the need for a public library in Fort Madison and contributed $30,000 towards the effort to build a new building.^[3] She also contributed $500 towards the purchase of new books. This is the earliest extant example of local philanthropic support in Iowa for the construction of a building dedicated for use as a public library.^[2] Elizabeth died before the project was completed.

Architecturally, the building is a combination of the Loire chateau and Richardsonian Romanesque styles.^[2] The exterior of the 2½-story structure is composed of brick with terracotta and stone trim. It is capped with a hipped roof. Roof dormers are located on the north and west elevations. The dominant feature of the building is a corner tower with a conical roof. An addition was added to the rear of the building in 1954.