History of the Dunbar Library: San Angelo's African American Library and Cultural Center

The Dunbar Library in San Angelo, Texas, was the first and only library in that city for African Americans during segregation. The Tom Green County Library was founded in 1929, but the public library excluded people of color. In 1932 donated books and a room in the local Black Masonic Temple were transformed into the Dunbar Library, which served the Black community with materials focused on African Americans. In 1940 the Dunbar Branch of the Tom Green County Library was relocated to a new building, and it served the educational needs of the Black community until its closure in 1972.

Opening a Community Library for Blacks in San Angelo

On July 20, 1933, the Dunbar Branch of the Tom Green County Library officially opened in a remodeled room in the Prince Hall Masonic Building on West Third Street. This followed a petition from a group of African Americans to the Tom Green County Commissioners Court to request library services and assert their exclusion as a violation of the Texas County Library Law. Despite limited resources, the new branch served an essential role and experienced significant patronage from the Black community. Named in honor of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a pioneering African American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the library offered access to reading materials that focused on African American history and culture. The initial book collection for the Dunbar Branch Library, provided by the Tom Green County Library in 1932, consisted of 272 books and additional magazines. During its first year of operation the branch was open two days a week and served 266 registered “borrowers.” In spring 1934 a “first class athletic card” of wrestling and boxing matches was held to benefit the Dunbar Library.

Building and Dedicating a New Facility as the Dunbar

Due to overcrowding, plans were made for a new Tom Green County Library. Ernestine Elizabeth (Bush) Somers Mayer, wife of San Angelo banker and rancher Sol Mayer, contributed more than $60,000 to build a new library, which was completed in 1938. Ernestine Mayer also funded the construction of the Dunbar Branch to be located at the intersection of North Randolph (now MLK) and Ninth Street. In its final year at the original Dunbar Branch facility, the book collection had grown to 1,123 volumes. In late November 1939 a committee broke ground on a new building. In addition to Mayer’s funding, other donations from local businesses and residents helped purchase the lot through subscriptions. Additionally, the community donated library equipment and grounds beautification.

On January 16, 1940, the San Angelo community gathered at the auditorium of Blackshear High School for the dedication of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Branch of the Tom Green County Library. The overflowing auditorium watched a program of speeches and Black spirituals performed by the community chorus. Reverend Jacob H. Carruthers of Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church gave the invocation before Charles R. Johnson, chairman on the Dunbar Library committee, introduced the main speaker, Grand Master Mason William Coleman of Fort Worth. Coleman said, “Our group needs that library…because we are close to slavery. We are descendants of slaves.” He praised the “refinement and culture” that the library would provide.  

In January 1940 the new 600-square-foot building opened. The Work Projects Administration initially assigned two Black workers to manage the branch's circulation. Open six days a week, Dunbar Library played a crucial role, especially for students from the nearby Blackshear School, and became a hub for learning, research, and community pride. Community members often donated new or lightly used items, such as books. The library, even though it lacked enough staff and materials, was widely used by the community.

The Dunbar as a Community Center

The Dunbar Library served as San Angelo's only Black library from 1932 to 1972, which included the era of segregation. Most African Americans resided in the Blackshear neighborhood, which supported Black-owned businesses, institutions, schools, churches, and the Dunbar Library. In 1942 the library held 1,648 volumes, mostly bought with funds from the county library system. By 1952 the Dunbar Branch Library’s collection had grown to 3,193 books, comprising both adult and juvenile titles, as well as reference materials and periodicals. This collection had expanded to approximately 5,000 books by 1956. As part of the county's library facility improvements, the Dunbar Branch received renovations in the spring of 1963. Progress toward desegregation after the integration of schools in 1958 remained slow during the two decades that followed. By 1972 the library held 3,356 books, including 237 recent additions on Black history. Unfortunately, the facility was too small to serve the registered patrons at the branch. County commissioners faced criticism for neglecting the Dunbar Branch Library, which lacked modern equipment, including proper heating and cooling systems. Though a new heating unit was eventually installed, the library closed in 1972, and in 1975 its collections were relocated to the new North Angelo Branch, located at 30th Street and North Chadbourne.

Repurposing the Former Dunbar

In November 1975 the county commissioners declined a request from the Rosary, Reading and Art Club to rent or lease the old Dunbar Branch Library building and instead recommended that the county attorney take the necessary steps to sell the property. Relocation was also discussed because of the pending construction of the Houston Harte Freeway. After the Tom Green County Library System vacated the building, County Judge Edd B. Keyes and the commissioners proposed a lease of the old Dunbar Library building to the San Angelo Northwest Lions Club, instead of selling it to the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that was not able to raise funds. After turning down all bids, the commissioners offered the Northwest Lions Club a one-year lease for one dollar along with a four-year option. In return, the organization promised to do renovations.

Northwest Lions Club and Dunbar as a Library and Museum

On February 20, 1982, Junior B. Hall (project chairman) and the Northwest Lions Club held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Dunbar Black Historical Memorial Library. This event was organized by the Northwest Lions Club, which collected local Black history to preserve it for future generations. Hall, a civic leader, NAACP member, and past president of the San Angelo Juneteenth Committee, played an important role in securing the transfer of ownership of the old Dunbar Library to the Northwest Lions Club. Over time, the Juneteenth Planning Committee utilized the Dunbar Library to host the annual Juneteenth parade, which local businesses, churches, clubs, and civic organizations long supported. In February 1988 during Black Heritage Week, the Dunbar Library served as the Black Heritage Hospitality House, offering refreshments, showcasing an exhibition of Black artifacts and memorabilia, and displaying videos that highlighted Black history. The building continued to house books and serve as a community hub, often hosting open house events during Black History Month. In 1990 to “help young black residents re-establish their identity with the black race,” Black community leaders collaborated to establish a museum within the Dunbar Library Building, in conjunction with the Museum of Black Texan Cultures. In September 2001 the county commissioners officially approved the sale of the former Dunbar Library to the Northwest Lions Club for $ 1,000. The Northwest Lions Club eventually became the North by Northwest Lions Club and continued to operate the Dunbar Library Building until 2017.

In 2016 the North by Northwest Lions Club considered the possibility of selling the Dunbar Historic Library Building to commercial developers who intended to incorporate the property into the Taco Bueno restaurant located on N. Bryant Blvd. When confronted with the threat of demolition of the building, community members—including retired pastor Craig Meyers and Angelo State University President Ronnie Hawkins—advocated its preservation, thereby helping to prevent the loss of the landmark. Community leaders, in collaboration with the San Angelo Lions Charities, secured a $50,000 grant from the San Angelo Health Foundation, which ultimately halted the sale. Subsequently, the North by Northwest Lions Club renovated the library building, and on September 30, 2017, it was inaugurated as a combined library and museum. The site houses numerous books, including approximately ninety volumes from the original collection, as well as research materials and historical photographs, all aimed at preserving African American literature and resources for children. The location functions as a comprehensive research center and museum. In 2018 the Dunbar Library was the recipient of the Texas Library Association’s Wayne Williams Project of the Year Award.