Lincoln, NE – 07/18/2024 – History Nebraska is pleased to announce that the Neligh Carnegie Library, located in Neligh, Antelope County, has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The Neligh Carnegie Library’s nomination recognizes its association with events that have significantly contributed to the broad patterns of our history, its embodiment of the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or its possession of high artistic values. It is significant to local history as part of the histories of Education and Architecture. It was nominated under the cover of a Multiple Property Documentation Form, or MPDF, “Nebraska Carnegie Libraries, 1902–1922.”
The Neligh Carnegie Library was built in 1910 with funding from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. It is one of approximately 2,500 Carnegie libraries constructed worldwide, 69 of which were built in Nebraska.
Before constructing the library, Neligh was one of many communities that subscribed to a traveling library. Once built, the Neligh Carnegie Library became a center of local educational efforts through its collection and hosting of events. The Carnegie libraries helped make libraries a public undertaking because Carnegie grants were to be used for construction costs only and were contingent upon communities’ pledges to provide a certain amount of support annually for its furnishing and maintenance.
The building’s architect, Paul O. Moratz, designed 69 libraries throughout his career, 27 of which were Carnegie libraries. Moratz was commissioned to build libraries in Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Indiana, and Tennessee. He designed the Neligh Carnegie Library predominantly in the Classical Revival style, which he used frequently. The style’s identifying characteristics of this building include the general consistency and symmetry of window sizes and placement, the columns that flank the front entrance, and the cornice and parapet at the entrance.
The Neligh Carnegie Library was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 26, 2024. The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s inventory of properties deemed worthy of preservation. It is part of a national program to coordinate and support local and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect the nation’s historic and archeological resources. For more information on the National Register program in Nebraska, contact History Nebraska’s Historic Preservation Office at or visit history.nebraska.gov/historic-preservation.
An MPDF simplifies nominating a property to the NRHP by conducting and presenting substantial contextualizing research.
