Cottonwood Community Library

From information found in the Cottonwood Jubilee book, a submitted piece written by Mrs. Leslie (Ruth) Larson states that in 1940 the Cottonwood Study Club became active in organizing a county library.  After many meetings with representatives throughout Lyon County, the Marshall-Lyon County Library became a reality in 1942.  The piece goes on to state that a “Library Station” was to be established in Cottonwood.

The first location of the Cottonwood Library was in the Cottonwood City Hall, which at that time, could be found in a building west of the water tower and directly behind the first Cottonwood Co-op Oil Company Station, which is now LeRoy’s bar and restaurant.

It is unclear as to who the first librarian was, however, two names that have come to be associated with the position were Mildred Wilson and Mary Javens.  At a later date, Maxine Dahl became the librarian and the library was relocated to the back part of the Variety Store on Main Street.  All this time the connection with the Marshall-Lyon County Library has remained, with the book collection and other materials basically loaned to Cottonwood by the Marshall-Lyon County Library.

In 1974 the Library was moved to the basement of what was once the North Star Insurance Building and is now the Senior Citizens Building (40 W. 1st Street).  Charlotte Rekedal was hired in 1980 and remained the librarian until 2018.

In April of 1992, the library was moved from the basement of the Senior Citizens Building to its new location in the back part of the building occupied by the City Clerk’s office, where it remained until April 2013.  With the relocation of the City Office to 78 West Main Street, the Cottonwood Library took over the entirely remodeled building at 86 West Main Street as its permanent residence. New shelving, furniture, storage, and bathroom inside and a new awning outside, updated the library. Recent changes in the collection feature “dynamic shelving,” which features books face-out, and all materials are refreshed more often so patrons can enjoy new materials each time they come in to browse.

The library is open 20 hours a week for its patrons’ use and enjoyment.  It remains a branch of the Marshall-Lyon County Library and continues to be a part of the Plum Creek Library System of Southwest Minnesota.

Adapted from information by Gregory Isaackson, former city clerk of Cottonwood; Karen Klein (daughter of Maxine Dahl; and Charlotte Rekedal, (former Cottonwood librarian) for use in the “Cottonwood, Minnesota: 125th Anniversary 1888 – 2013.”