Since 1882 the citizens of Mitchell have made this a thriving community able to meet their economic, educational, religious, and cultural needs. They recognized the important part that cultural and educational activities played in creating a quality of life that enticed people to come to Mitchell and to stay, continuing to build the community into a vibrant and thriving city.

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union organized the first library in Mitchell in 1884, and provided for the upkeep and operational expenses of a one hundred volume library. The volumes of mostly philosophy were donated by Mitchell Presbyterian minister, Reverend E.R. Chapin and the new little library was located in a small shack on the northeast corner of First and Main Streets. Books of fiction were later added and Mrs. S. H. Scallin was one of the first librarians of the WCTU library.

After a few very successful years, the owner of the little library shack and lot sold the property and the books were moved to the YMCA rooms which were located over a downtown store. There the library received little attention, as there was no librarian to care for it. By 1894 the objective of a circulation library for the citizens of Mitchell was in real jeopardy.

In 1901 citizens of Mitchell contacted steel magnate Mr. Andrew Carnegie requesting funds to construct a library building for their growing community. On February 3, 1902, Carnegie agreed to provide $10,000 to construct a library if the city would agree to pay $1,000 annually for upkeep. After fierce debate, a site on the west side of town was chosen because of its close proximity to the proposed site of the City Hall. Architects W.L. Dow and Son of Sioux Falls designed a building, and Mr. A.J. Kings of Mitchell was awarded construction on a bid of $9,865. An additional grant of $2,000 was later obtained from Carnegie to add the aesthetic enhancements of decorative hand-carved oak elements on the interior, cut stained glass windows and wrought iron railings and fences.

While the City Council was planning for the building, the Women’s Library Association worked to fill the book shelves that would soon be in place. The WLA hosted many fundraising events, including presenting the locally written and produced drama “De Medici.” The books purchased with those funds were labeled the De Medici Collection.

Construction started in the fall of 1902 and was completed in the early summer of 1903. Constructed of jasper quartzite, the library is architecturally significant and a monument to the skilled stonemasons, woodworkers, glass artisans and ornamental craftsmen of the period, skills which no longer exist today.

The architects, Dow and Son, chose to use construction materials that were available in the local area. The quartzite stone which comprises the main portions of the building was quarried in Spencer, SD. Visual relief was added by including bands of Sandstone probably brought in from Minnesota.

A solid concrete foundation wall supported cut quartzite stone laid in even courses around the building to the first sandstone relief band. Above that band, for visual contrast the stone was laid in a broken ashlar pattern using stones of differing heights. The stonework is of exceptional structural quality, being bench dressed with end and bed joints cut square to the face. The building was visually enhanced by incorporating two quartzite dental courses at the cornice, relieved by a sandstone belt and coping. This construction style was matched when the City Hall was built south of the Carnegie Library. The City Hall building was destroyed in the 1960’s. The beautifully restored and cared for United Methodist Church still standing to the north also incorporated the same style.

Quality construction and craftsmanship followed throughout the building. The basement was finished with a 4” poured concrete floor. The first floor is clay tile formed into steel beams resting on bearing walls. Poured concrete and wood were placed above this formwork. The roof consists of trusses 24” on center covered by 1 x 6 planks and roofing material. The dome is framed of wood and plastered on the inside.

The oak woodwork on the interior is a testament to the craftsmanship of the early citizens of Mitchell, with an ornate grill dividing the lobby and what was the former library stack room. Elaborate and delicate detailing abounds in the two side wing rooms above the red brick fireplace and doorways. Striking leaded panels of stained glass diamonds in colors of gold and purple were added to adorn the dome walkway area and above the many windows.

Over the following years, many successful local benefits and events resulted in hundreds of books for the new building. In 1922, librarian Miss Edla Auson wrote to the Carnegie Corporation requesting funds to build an addition to the original building to house the growing collection of books. However, by that time the Carnegie Corporation was no longer making appropriations for libraries or additions. Undeterred, the citizens of Mitchell raised money through local donations and in 1930, with the addition of city funds, Mitchell architect Walter J. Dixon was commissioned to design a 22 foot 6 inch by 29 foot 10 inch two story addition to the south side of the building. The architecture of the original building was matched exactly and even today it is very difficult to tell where the original building ends and the addition begins. The original south windows were re-installed into the new south wall.

The Mitchell Public Carnegie Library continued to grow and in 1960 a brick addition was constructed at the east side of the south wing. Again architect Walter J. Dixon was retained for the design, but by then the cut stone quarries had closed and dressed quartzite stone was no longer available. Brick manufacturers throughout the area submitted samples and a color selected that would match the quartzite color as closely as possible.

But by 1970 the addition of more varied types of educational equipment and materials in addition to books required more space than was available at the Carnegie Library and the city of Mitchell constructed a new Public Library building at 221 North Duff Street.

After the library materials were removed from the Carnegie building in 1971, several community organizations contested to acquire the building for their use. Among them were the Senior Citizens Center, the Youth Recreation Center, various church groups and the newly formed Mitchell Area Arts Council. Because of the aesthetic endeavors of the group, the City Council determined to lease the building for one dollar a year to the Mitchell Area Arts Council.

Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project Dome Mural 1940
Sun and Rain Clouds over Hills

In 1940, as part of the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project – South Dakota Artist Project division, world renowned Yanktonais Nakota Sioux artist Oscar Howe painted a mural within the dome of the Carnegie Library. Titled Sun and Rain Clouds over Hills, the work was inspired by the drought years and the Great Depression and expresses a prayer for rain and fertility. The goal of the Federal Art Project was to employ out-of-work artists and to provide art for non-federal government buildings such as county courthouses, post offices and libraries. Opening on August 29, 1935, as the latest in a short series of Depression-art visual arts programs, the FAP closed on June 30, 1943.

The Carnegie Library dome mural was Howe’s first mural painting and is an important example of the early Sioux Skin Painting Technique; a flat sharply delineated, two-dimensional style of painting which was traditionally done on animal skins. The mural incorporates the four directions basic to Sioux Culture. Whenever a prayer is offered, the four directions are recognized as an indication that you are a part of your environment and part of the whole. The stylized birds are the Thunderbeings, considered to be the sacred messengers of prayers to the Great Spirit as well as bringers of rain.

The great success Howe achieved in designing and painting the dome mural at the young age of 27, influenced the Federal Art Project to send Howe to study mural painting under the famous Norwegian muralist Olle Nordmark at the Fort Sill Indian School in Oklahoma. He was then assigned to decorate the new auditorium in Mobridge in 1942.

In the fall of 1948 Howe was invited to design the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, a position which he held from 1949 until 1971. He was also admitted to Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, where he was given a special appointment as artist-in-residence and instructor in art. This recognition of and commitment to his potential gave him an institutional base from which to develop his creativity. Three years later he was awarded the Harvey Dunn Medal in Art. Upon his graduation from Dakota Wesleyan he went on leave from his instructional position with the university's art department to pursue graduate training at the University of Oklahoma. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Oklahoma in 1954 and returned to Dakota Wesleyan to be the head of the Department of Art. From September 1943 until his appointment as an assistant professor of fine arts at the University of South Dakota in 1957, he was also the director of the art program at the Pierre Indian School. He served as a member of the art faculty and artist-in-residence at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion from 1957 to 1961. A recipient of numerous national art awards, he held many honors, including Artist Laureate of South Dakota, and exhibited his work widely. Howe is recognized as one of the primary figures of the small handful of artists who defined the nationwide Native American Fine Art Movement between the 1940s and 1960s. He was accorded the status of Professor Emeritus of Art in 1980. Howe succumbed to Parkinson's Disease in October 1983.

Oscar Howe is seen worldwide as a “model of cultural vitality, one who bridged the Indian and non-Indian worlds and achieved a continuity between an ancient tradition and the 20th century.” (Oscar Howe: A Master Revisited) Howe’s work is shown in galleries around the world and is collected by major museums in New York, London and Paris. Importance also exists in the influence Howe’s work has exerted in the world of Modern and Fine Art. In work as powerful as that of Picasso and Matisse, Howe’s art expresses fundamental human responses to spirituality and beauty… what it means to be a human being. Oscar Howe’s artwork stirs the hearts of people across the globe, even if they know nothing about the artist or his Native American heritage; a testament to the true measure of his greatness.

The Site’s Importance to the Citizens of Mitchell, the State of South Dakota and the Nation

The Mitchell Carnegie Library has been an integral part of the life of the citizens of Mitchell for 104 years. It has provided educational and cultural experiences for hundreds of thousands over the years. It has the potential to continue to serve in that capacity for many more years to come. The Carnegie Library is the oldest surviving exquisite example of quartzite stonework in the city. The craftsmanship required and materials used to build this building no longer exist today. The architectural beauty and cultural anchor it provides to our city can not be underestimated.

The WPA Carnegie Library dome mural Sun and Rain Clouds over Hills is one of only three mural sites by Oscar Howe in the world, the others being the City Auditorium of Mobridge, SD painted in 1942, and the mosaic murals Howe designed for the exterior of the Proviso West High School of Hillside, IL in 1965. It is also the only mural in the state that utilizes the artistically crucial Sioux Skin Painting Technique.

Oscar Howe’s experiences overseas while serving in World War II influenced his art style, contributing to his development as the most innovative and modern Indian artist of his generation. His work continues to exert a major influence on the course of not only Indian art, but on all modern fine art throughout the nation to this day. The citizens of Mitchell believed in Howe, provided him with employment in the art field and supported his vision for many years. The cultural atmosphere of the city of Mitchell has been influential on a national scope.

It is the duty of the citizens of Mitchell and the city’s governing body to realize the inherent historical, cultural and artistic value of the site, not only for our own city’s beautification and benefit, but for the cultural and Native American legacy it embodies for the State of South Dakota and the entire United States of America.

References:

The Oscar Howe Art Center: A Historic Study by Harold W. Brown, Architect, Mitchell, SD, ca. 1980

The Oscar Howe Art Center Board Member Handbook, author unknown, ca. 1980

Oscar Howe: A Master Revisited by Dr. John A. Day, South Dakota Magazine, July-Aug 1996