Current Butterfield home served as longtime library
By Anna Beall
The Butterfield Stage theater wasn’ t formed until the late 1970s, but the building was built long before that as a Carnegie Library. As such, the story of Butterfield begins with a group promoting a different kind of culture. The XLI Club was a women’ s organization that promoted literacy and education that was named for its initial 41 members. The group was formed in early 1894 and immediately began collecting books for their club library, having over 125 books by the end of 1896. While this library was initially only for club members, the club converted its own library to the first public library in Gainesville around 1900, moving into the city hall in 1905 and establishing a library association outside of the club soon after. The XLI Club made due with the rooms available, but the ultimate goal was still to build a public library. Discussions began in 1903 to apply for a grant with the Carnegie Foundation to build a library, although it wouldn’ t come to fruition until a $ 15,000 grant was obtained in