In March 1909, the Lavonia Woman’s Club sought funding from Andrew Carnegie and the approval of a town council for the construction of a library. Carnegie pledged $5000 for the construction and the council promised $500 per year for the purchase of books and upkeep for ten years. petitioned Mr. Andrew Carnegie and the town council for the erection of a building to house what would eventually become known as a library. Mr. Carnegie granted $5,000 for erection of a building with the council providing $500 a year for ten years for books and upkeep. The facility, now part of the Athens Regional Library, still serves the city.

For many years, the architect of the library wasn’t known, but according to a document entitled “Georgia’s Existing Carnegie Libraries”, John Garland Longstreet (1849-1918), the son of Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, was responsible for the design. This was apparently unknown to those who compiled the nomination of the structure to the National Register of Historic Places. It’s one of the most architecturally impressive Carnegie libraries surviving in Georgia.

National Register of Historic Places