Mary Willis Library

The Mary Willis Library is a historic public library located in the city of Washington, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The library, located at 204 East Liberty Street (corner of East Liberty and South Jefferson) in downtown Washington, is the designated public library for Wilkes County and headquarters of the Bartram Trail Regional Library System. Built in 1889 in red brick and featuring Tiffany glass, the Mary Willis Library was listed with the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1972.First Free LibraryThe Mary Willis Library was the first free public library in the state of Georgia when it opened in 1889. The free library was a revolutionary concept in a day when all the state's earlier libraries charged users a subscription fee. The library was founded the previous year by Dr. Francis T. Willis in memory of his daughter, Mary. Dr. Willis, a local by birth who had moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1867, left the library as a gift to his hometown and its citizens. Dr. Willis donated his own private collection of books, plus fifteen thousand dollars for the library's construction, two thousand dollars to purchase furnishings and more books, and another ten thousand dollars as an endowment fund.Noted Atlanta architect Edmund George Lind designed the library in the Queen Anne style, with masonry construction featuring detailed brickwork, a steeply gabled roof and a dome-capped tower. The library interior is lit by stained glass windows, including the central memorial window which was crafted by Tiffany Studios. The historic original 1889 construction covered a size of 2,655 ft2 (246.7 m2).