Scottish American industrialist Andrew Carnegie had become one of history’s most prominent philanthropists. In the last 18 years of his life, he gave away approximately $350 million, which was roughly 90 percent of his fortune.

Carnegie believed that a free library was the best gift a community could receive, provided citizens maintained it. The Library Board applied for a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, but the first request was denied.

In 1905, Corona received a ten-thousand-dollar grant from the Carnegie Foundation to construct our first dedicated library building.

This is the acceptance letter for our grant request