Mendenhall Public Library: Home of Mississippi's Tallest Totem Pole

 

According to an article by RoadsideAmerica.com dated 2015, the tallest totem pole in Mississippi is located at the Mendenhall Public Library. The totem pole was a project by local artist and woodcarver, Johnny Knight. Before his death in 2003 he donated the totem pole to his hometown and the town decided that its home would be the Mendenhall Public Library. He also built an amazing tree house known as The Johnny Knight Tree House. You really should see it.

When I was tasked with writing an article about the Mendenhall Library, I knew that I wanted to include the totem pole in my article, after all, it's kind of hard to miss. As I was looking for information on the totem pole and about the library in general, I found an old scrapbook full of old articles. There are articles from libraries all across the state, so looking for information about the Mendenhall Library was interesting. 

Now I could not find any information on the original opening of the Mendenhall Library. I did see in one article I found, dated 1961 that stated the library started out in the "old grammar room in the school building" before being moved to "a small building located across from the courthouse." Is that the location in the picture? I'm not sure, I can't tell you when the article pictured below was written or when the picture below was taken, or if that is even the building mentioned in the article. As I looked through the scrapbook of gold, the historians that put it together forgot about adding the dates of the articles or the location of the pictures. We have all done it, clipped an article for a paper or magazine about family or friends, never thinking to include the details, such as the who, why, where, what, or when. They had the right idea of preserving history but as we age and the historians of the community go on, we forget the details of the stories we think that the stories will live on long after we are gone. Sometimes they do live on but the details change. I never knew the library was ever located anywhere other than where it is today. I was born and raised in Simpson County and for as long as I can remember the library has always been here. We will get to that in a minute.

Something else I discovered while looking for information about the library was the use of bookmobiles. Did you know that the Mississippi Library Commission also had a bookmobile that delivered books to the libraries in the state? I only know this now because of the scrapbook and the articles that I found. I can't tell you when the bookmobiles were in service or for how long. 

I can tell you that the library has been holding summer programs for the area's children for a long time. In the article below the library was part of the Capital Area Regional Library System. I do know from the history of CMRLS that in 1952, the Board of Supervisors in Hinds, Rankin, Scott, and Simpson established the Capital Area Regional Library System. In 1986, the Central Mississippi Regional Library System was born serving the residents of Rankin, Scott, Smith, and Simpson.

Eventually, the library outgrew its location and had to find a forever home. According to the plaque on the wall outside the door of the library that happened in 1975. With funds from the City of Mendenhall and State Funds via the Mississippi Library Commission, the brand-new Mendenhall Library was constructed at its current location (I also found the original blueprints). The city has added a community center to the rear of the library and renovated the inside as the needs and services of the library have changed over time. 

Life is all about change. 

 I was born and raised right here in Simpson County and in all those years, the library has sat in its current location.