The Best Gift
Montana's Carnegie Libraries

by Kate Hampton

photography by Tom Ferris

published by Montana History Foundation

  • Between 1901 and 1922, seventeen Montana communities built libraries with money given to them by the era's richest man, Andrew Carnegie. Fifteen of those libraries stand today, and their story is told compellingly here by architectural historian Kate Hampton. Just as he did in Hand Raised: The Barns of Montana, photographer Tom Ferris provides stunning detail of both the classic and unusual architectural elements of these iconic buildings. Hand-drawn architectural renderings and other historical images combine to create a detailed portrait of Carnegie's rich legacy in Montana.

    All book proceeds benefit Montana historic preservation!



120 pages, 9 1/8 x 8 1/8, Smythe-sewn

hardcover
ISBN 10: 1591522501
ISBN 13: 9781591522508
$19.95

RELEASE DATE
08/05/2019

    Learn more about your community's Carnegie Library!

 

 

 

 


The Best Gift
Montana's Carnegie Libraries



Kate Hampton is the Community Preservation Officer at the Montana Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office, where she works directly with local community preservation programs to document and preserve their cultural resources. Her past work includes several years with the Montana Preservation Alliance as the Director of the Most Endangered Places Program, work as a Partner in the Field for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinating Montana’s National Register of Historic Places Program, and working throughout the West as a Research Historian with Historic Research Associates, Inc. She also directs the nationally-recognized Identifying Montana’s African-American Heritage Resources projects, which identify, research, and document resources and places throughoutthe state associated with African-American history.

A contributing author to the award-winning Montana Women’s History Matters project, Kate has written numerous articles, book chapters, National Register nominations, cultural resource reports, and presentations—documenting places throughout the West. Her work includes studies of many varied historical and architectural themes, ranging from aviation history to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Montana designs. For more than a quarter century, Kate has studied and written about Montana’s important places and the architectural landscape that not only makes the state unique, but also ties its history to the rest of the nation.


She received her undergraduate degree in history from Towson State University and successfully completed the Masters in History program at the University of Montana – Missoula.


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