# Willard Library

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Not to be confused with the Willard Library in [Battle Creek, Michigan](/source/Battle_Creek%2C_Michigan).

United States historic place

Willard Library U.S. National Register of Historic Places Front and southern side of the library Show map of Indiana Show map of the United States Location 21 1st Ave., Evansville, Indiana Coordinates 37°58′42″N 87°34′27″W / 37.97833°N 87.57417°W / 37.97833; -87.57417 Area 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) Built 1877 Architect James W. Reid (Reid & Reid) Architectural style Victorian Gothic NRHP reference No. 72000014[1] Added to NRHP September 28, 1972

Philanthropist Willard Carpenter

The **Willard Library** is a private donation library incorporated in 1881 to serve the city of [Evansville, Indiana](/source/Evansville%2C_Indiana). In addition to standard publications, Willard Library also stores local and genealogical archives. It is built in the [Gothic Revival style](/source/Gothic_Revival_architecture), designed by [James W. Reid](/source/James_W._Reid_(architect)) (of [Reid & Reid](/source/Reid_%26_Reid)). It was listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) in 1972.

## History

Willard Carpenter built and endowed Willard Library. He established a trust fund in 1876, writing:

- "I have concluded . . . to establish and endow a public library, to be located in a public park, on land owned by me, situated in the city of Evansville. I am induced to do this in well-grounded hope that such an institution may become useful toward the improvement of the moral and intellectual culture of the inhabitants of Evansville . . . and also toward the enlargement and diffusion of a taste for the fine arts."[2]

## Architecture

The library was built in the [Victorian Gothic](/source/Victorian_Gothic) style, with features including its steep roofs, turrets, and window arcades with [Gothic](/source/Gothic_architecture) arches.[3]

## Genealogy and local history collections

Willard Library is home to a vast range of [genealogy](/source/Genealogy) and local history [special collections](/source/Special_collections) on their second floor. Opened in August 1976 the collections include: fifty state references, family histories in book, microform, manuscript, and loose-paper formats, [Vanderburgh County](/source/Vanderburgh_County%2C_Indiana) newspapers from 1821 to the present, newspapers from selected surrounding counties, Vanderburgh County records (on microfilm), church records in several formats, Catholic Diocese records (on microfilm), records of local and area cemeteries and funeral homes, DAR book collection, and several online databases and three major search engines: Heritage Quest, Genealogy Bank, and Ancestry Library.[4] The Library hosts an annual "Midnight Madness" event where the library is open until midnight all week for research purposes. Genealogists and others come from all over to research family histories, etc.[5]

The Tri-State Genealogical Society formed in partnership with the Special Collections department at the library. They publish a packet every September, December, March, and June for their members.

## Haunting

The Willard Library is purported to be haunted by a [specter](/source/Ghost) known as the "Grey Lady", She is thought to be a girl named Louise Carpenter, daughter of Willard Carpenter. When Willard Carpenter died, he gave away the library. Louise Carpenter sued the library board in the 1890s, believing it was hers on the pretense that her father was not in a sound state of mind when he wrote his last will and testament. Louise Carpenter would go on to lose the case, and she is said to haunt the library in revenge. The first sighting of the gray lady was reported in the basement of the library in 1937 by a library custodian, who quit shortly after the encounter.[6][7] People who have encountered the grey lady say they smelled the scent of perfume and heard strange noises. The library started putting up webcams in 1999 and currently has 6 of them.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nris_1-0)** ["National Register Information System"](https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP). *[National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places)*. [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service). March 13, 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** History of Vanderburgh County. Madison, Wisconsin: Brant and Fuller, 1889, p. 322.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-SHAARD_3-0)** ["Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)"](https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/welcome.html) (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190427085151/https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/welcome.html) from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2016. *Note:* This includes unknown (n.d.). ["National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Willard Library"](https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/2610a/N/Willard_Library_Vanderburgh_CO_Nom.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved August 1, 2016. and Accompanying photographs

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** www.grayloon.com, Gray Loon Marketing Group. ["Willard Library"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181105143214/https://www.willard.lib.in.us/programs_and_services/genealogy_and_local_history/index.php). *www.willard.lib.in.us*. Archived from [the original](https://www.willard.lib.in.us/programs_and_services/genealogy_and_local_history/index.php) on November 5, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Willard Library hosts "Midnight Madness" for genealogy research"](http://www.14news.com/story/25799033/willard-library-hosts-midnight-madness-for-genealogy-research/). *14news.com*. Retrieved October 25, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-greylady2021_6-0)** Webb, Jon (October 25, 2021). ["Evansville's Grey Lady ghost still 'messing with' employees, patrons at Willard Library"](https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/local/2021/10/25/evansvilles-grey-lady-ghost-still-messing-with-library-patrons/8539003002/). *www.courierpress.com*. Courier & Press. Retrieved October 9, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The story of The Grey Lady, Willard Public Library's ghost"](https://www.rivercityweekend.com/2021/08/27/the-grey-lady-willard-librarys-friendly-ghost/). *River City Weekend*. August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2023.

## Further reading

- Donald E. Baker, Director of the Willard Library Evansville. Two Publics: The Willard Library and the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Library, *Indiana Libraries*, Volume 6, Number 2 (1986)

- [*History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from earliest times to the present; with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc, by Brant and Fuller*](https://archive.org/details/historyofvanderb00bran/page/314), 1889, Chapter X.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Willard Library](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Willard_Library).

- [Willard Library](http://www.willard.lib.in.us/), official site

- [Tri-State Genealogical Society](https://tsgspaddlewheel.com/), official site

- [Willard Library Ghostcams](http://www.willardghost.com)

v t e City of Evansville Annual festivals Evansville Freedom Festival Frog Follies Germania Männerchor Volksfest Jazz & Wine Festival ShrinersFest West Side Nut Club Fall Festival Vanderburgh County 4H Fair Arenas and venues Alhambra Theatorium Bosse Field EVSC Fields Ford Center Goebel Soccer Complex Mesker Amphitheatre Metro Sports Center Old National Events Plaza Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum Swonder Ice Arena Victory Theatre Corporate headquarters and major employers Accuride Atlas Van Lines Berry Global CenterPoint Energy Cleveland-Cliffs Mead Johnson Old National Bank OneMain Financial Shoe Carnival TJ Maxx Toyota Education Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Indiana University School of Medicine Ivy Tech Community College University of Evansville University of Southern Indiana ITT Technical Institute Harrison College Oakland City University Willard Library Rex Mundi High School (closed) Neighborhoods / districts Bayard Park Culver Downtown Haynies Corner Jacobsville Lamasco Lincolnshire Historic District Riverside Historic District Washington Avenue Historic District Attractions Angel Mounds Bally's Casino Burdette Park Children's Museum of Evansville Evansville Museum Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Ford Center LST 325 Museum Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden Reitz Home Museum Old National Events Plaza Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse Wesselman Woods Malls & other commerce Downtown Eastland Mall Washington Square Mall Sports Evansville Purple Aces USI Screaming Eagles Evansville Otters Evansville Thunderbolts Evansville Legends FC Demolition City Roller Derby Southern Indiana Athletic Conference Refrigerator Bowl Hoosier Nationals Thunder on the Ohio Transportation CSX Transportation Evansville Regional Airport Metropolitan Evansville Transit System I-64 I-69 US 41 Lloyd Expressway SR 57 SR 62 SR 65 SR 66 SR 662 Healthcare & emergency Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Deaconess Midtown Hospital Deaconess Gateway and Women's Hospital Southwestern Indiana Mental Health System IU Evansville Medical Center Regional Center Township German Township Knight Township Perry Township Pigeon Township Vanderburgh County Evansville Metropolitan Area Southwestern Indiana Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky tri-state area Area codes 812 and 930

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Topics Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types Lists by county Adams Allen Bartholomew Benton Blackford Boone Brown Carroll Cass Clark Clay Clinton Crawford Daviess Dearborn Decatur DeKalb Delaware Dubois Elkhart Fayette Floyd Fountain Franklin Fulton Gibson Grant Greene Hamilton Hancock Harrison Hendricks Henry Howard Huntington Jackson Jasper Jay Jefferson Jennings Johnson Knox Kosciusko LaGrange Lake LaPorte Lawrence Madison Marion: Center Township Marion: Other Marshall Martin Miami Monroe Montgomery Morgan Newton Noble Ohio Orange Owen Parke Perry Pike Porter Posey Pulaski Putnam Randolph Ripley Rush St. Joseph Scott Shelby Spencer Starke Steuben Sullivan Switzerland Tippecanoe Tipton Union Vanderburgh Vermillion Vigo Wabash Warren Warrick Washington Wayne Wells White Whitley Other lists Bridges National Historic Landmarks Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

Authority control databases International VIAF National United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Willard Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Library) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Library?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.