On February 3, 1916, the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, along with several other civic groups, presented the idea of establishing a public library to Mayor Joseph J. Richardson and the Smithfield City Council. Constructed in 1921 at a cost of $20,000, the Smithfield Carnegie Public Library is significant as the first public library in Smithfield and is a fine example of the work of Fred. W. Hodgson, a prominent local architect who designed many other buildings in Cache Valley. The Smithfield Public Library was one of more than 1,400 public libraries established throughout the U.S. between 1898 and 1920, primarily through grants from Andrew Carnegie, a multi-millionaire and steel magnate who felt that the rich had an obligation to use their excess wealth for the benefit of mankind. Carnegie hoped to stimulate a community’s commitment to establishing a free library program by giving it much, but not all, of the money required to build the library, with the understanding that the community would be responsible for furnishing and maintaining it; this was the case in Smithfield. Continually used as a public library, the building is a key historic resource within the community of Smithfield. A new addition to the building was completed in 2014.
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