Marshall Library History

1956 proved to be a successful year for the Public Library.  After two previous attempts to open a library, a group of women were able to establish an inventory of 500 books, of which local citizens donated over half of them.  The women were able to arrange for space in the Methodist Church fellowship hall to begin their service.  The library remained in the church basement for several years before moving into the school.  Only after a brief stay, the library moved to the town hall, but once again returned to the school.  The Friends of the Library Group formed and hosted talent shows, community auctions, and other fundraising events to support the library as it bounced between locations. 

A temporary site was set up in a rented building on Main Street until 1967, when the current Municipal Building was erected.  By 1976, over 10,000 hard cover volumes and 900 paperbacks, plus a vast array of magazines, records, and tapes stocked the shelves to meet the needs to over 600 library cardholders. 

Twenty-five years later, the Head Librarian and three assistants continue to meet the growing needs of its 2,548 registered patrons in the same location.  Supported by taxes, donations, memorials and estates, the library's inventory has increased to 16,448 books, approximately 70 periodicals, 768 Audio materials, and 1,000 videos.  The Library also has computers for public use.  Two computers have LinkCat capabilities that allow patrons to access resources from other Libraries through out Wisconsin.  One computer is designated for Internet and Word Processing use and two computers are set up for Children's Education.  Over 40,000 items were circulated through our library in the year 2000 alone.

The year 2001, forty-five years after the creation of the Public Library, proved to be another successful year to remember.  A large donation to the Public Library by Clarissa Porter, a descendant of prominent community fore-father William Porter, and a commitment from the Village Board, allowed the library to pursue their goal of a building to themselves.  The chosen site of Deerhaven Park is home to the new library as of 2002.