Lambie Hall

Lambie Hall (sometimes known as Lambie’s Hall) was the site of the first public library in Windsor.

In 1855, James Lambie built a small frame structure on Ferry Street that doubled as his general store and Windsor’s first Congregational Church. Lambie Hall became a popular Lambie Hallvenue for other organizations and James decided to relocate his store to Sandwich Street West in 1876. In 1894, Lambie’s Hall transformed into Windsor’s first free public library. Patrons paid five cents a year for a library card, which granted them access to the library’s collection of 5,254 books and sixty periodicals; William Kay was appointed as librarian.

Windsor outgrew Lambie’s Hall by the turn of the century and, in 1901, a formal request was made to American Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for $20,000 to construct a new library. A site was selected at the corner of Park and Victoria streets to build Carnegie Library, which opened in October 1903. Lambie Hall was demolished in 1914, eleven years after the city got a Carnegie Library

Sources:

People: Scots of Windsor’s Past

WPL HISTORY

WPL First Library