Judith Carter Horton and the Excelsior Library of Guthrie, Oklahoma

 In 1908, Judith Carter Horton established the Excelsior Library, Oklahoma's first public library for African Americans. The Excelsior Library was located in the town of Guthrie, on Second Street, and was headed by Mrs. Horton. Born in 1866 in Wright City, Missouri, Mrs. Horton was an 1891 graduate of Oberlin College, and the wife of D.G. Horton (Mr. Horton was the principal of Favor High School, a high school for African Americans in Guthrie). The refusal of Guthrie's library, the Carnegie Circulating Library, to provide service to her husband was Mrs. Horton's motivation for starting the Excelsior Library. In 1910, the Excelsior Library became a branch of the Carnegie Circulating Library.

In 1904, Mrs. Horton founded Oklahoma's first women's club for African Americans, the Excelsior Club. She also served as president of the Oklahoma State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs for three terms. In addition, Mrs. Horton a was founding member of the Warner Street Congregational Church, and was active in the National Association of Colored Women (later the National Association of Colored Womens Clubs). Prior to her arrival in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Mrs. Horton was an educator in Columbus, Kansas.

After 11 years of service, Mrs. Horton left the Excelsior Library to accept a teaching position at Favor High School. She retired from Favor High School in 1936. Mrs. Horton passed away in 1948 in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Mrs. Horton was one of four women profiled in "The First Ladies of Colored America -No. 6", an article featured in the February 1943 issue of the The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races. The Crisis is the journal of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was founded by W.E.B. DuBois in 1910. It is still in publication after 103 years.

Note: The Carnegie Circulating Library was originally established as the Guthrie Public Library in July of 1900 by the Federated Women's Clubs of Guthrie. In 1901, the library was renamed the Carnegie Circulating Library, and in 1902 a new building was constructed with a grant of $26,000 from Andrew Carnegie (R.W. Ramsey, a friend of Carnegie helped initiate this effort). The City of Guthrie contributed an additional gift of $10,000. Adele Kesler was the librarian. The library provided services to the residents of Guthrie until its closure in 1972. A new library, the Guthrie Public Library, was built to replace the Carnegie Circulating Library. The Carnegie Circulating Library is now the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest surviving Carnegie Library in Oklahoma. 

You can view a picture postcard of the Carnegie Circulating Library on the Library Postcards Blog: http://www.librarypostcards.blogspot.com/2008/12/carnegie-library-guthrie-oklahoma.html 


See related post: Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the Muskogee Public Library (Muskogee, Oklahoma)

Update 11/03/2016:

Judith Carter Horton and the Excelsior Library are mentioned in an article in the November 2016 issue of Mistletoe Leaves, a publication of the Oklahoma Historical Society:

"OTM Collecting Artifacts and Stories Relating to the African American Experience."  Mistletoe Leaves 47.10 (Nov. 2016): 5. Print.

Note: OTM is the Oklahoma Territorial Museum.

Sources: "Colored Library A Success." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 18 Dec. 1908:9. Print. ; "For A Worthy Purpose." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 5 O'Clock Ed. 15 July 1908:1. Print. ; Lucas-Thompson, Grace. "What Our Women are Doing!" The Freeman (Indianapolis, Ind.) 12 Dec. 1914:3. Print. ; "Men of the Month." The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races 15.6 (1918): 279-280. Print. ;  "The First Ladies of Colored America - No. 6." The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races 50.2 (Feb. 1943): 48. Print. ; "Judith Carter Horton." Notable Oklahoma Women. Tulsa City-County Library, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. ;  Stiefmiller, Helen M. "Horton, Judith Ann Carter Horton (1866-1948)." Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society and Oklahoma State University Libraries Electronic Publishing Center, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010 ; "Social Uplift." The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races 9.1 (Nov. 1914): 8. Print.  ; "Carnegie Libraries: Oklahoma's Treasures." Trustee Talk (Oklahoma Dept. of Libraries, Office of Library Development) 8 (Sept. 2004): 10. Print. ; "Guthrie Public Library." OLA Celebrates the Oklahoma Centennial and the OLA Centennial. Oklahoma Library Association, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2012. ; Everett, Dianna. "Carnegie Libraries." Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society and Oklahoma State University Libraries Electronic Publishing Center, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2012. ; "Carnegie Library." The Oklahoma Territorial Museum & Carnegie Library. The Oklahoma Territorial Museum & Carnegie Library, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2012. ; Guthrie Public Library. Guthrie Public Library, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2012. ; Reports of the Oklahoma Library Commission, Sept. 15, 1919-June 30, 1920 and Survey of Public Libraries of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City: Warden Company, 1922. 12-13, 20, 26-27, 43, 69-70, 86, 95-96. Print. ; "Hear This Musical Program and Address." The Oklahoma Guide (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 30.18 (Oct. 14, 1920): 1. Print. ; Rees, Margaret. "Guthrie's New Library: An Appeal to the Public to Assist the New Enterprise." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 11 Nov. 1901:3. Print. ; "Building Site for Carnegie Library: Discussed Pro and Con by Members of Women's Clubs." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 5 Nov. 1901:3. Print. ; "Public Library Notes." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 7 Feb. 1902: 6. Print. ; "Total Gifts to Date of America's Two Wealthiest Money Kings." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 7 Feb. 1902: 3. Print. ; "Carnegie Library Cornerstone Laid: Federation of Women's Club Fitly Celebrate the Event." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 3 July 1902:1, 8. Print. ; "Carnegie Library Was Officially Dedicated Last Night." The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) 21 May 1903:1, 4. Print. ; "OTM Collecting Artifacts and Stories Relating to the African American Experience."  Mistletoe Leaves 47.10 (Nov. 2016): 5. Print.