The Way We Were: You can thank a German immigrant for the start of the Naperville Public Library

Every week we publish a historic photo highlighting a story from Naperville’s past from the history archives of Naper Settlement.

The Naperville Public Library has a rich history helped in large part by the generosity of James L. Nichols.

Nichols, born in Germany in 1851, spoke his native tongue until age 12. He learned to speak English after he and his parents moved to America, living first in Albany, New York, and then moving to Illinois.

Nichols earned a certificate to teach at a country district school by age 18, and later moved to Naperville in 1876 when he was 25. He graduated from North-Western College — now known as North Central College — in 1880.

In 1882, Nichols was appointed chair of the college’s commerce department and four years later he published a textbook called “The Business Guide.” A huge success, his book had sold 3 million copies by 1917.

In 1891, he left higher education to focus on running his publishing company, J.L. Nichols & Co.

Nichols was just 44 when he died Aug. 18, 1895, but what he left in his last will and testament had a lasting impact on his adopted hometown.

Nichols bequeathed $10,000 to the city of Naperville for the establishment of a library with the requirements that the city maintain it, supply its materials and provide employees for its continual use.

As his widow, Elizabeth, recalled: “He expressed to me a desire to leave a gift of a library to Naperville so that no boy or girl should be without books as he had been.”

With Nichols’ gift in hand, Naperville officials in 1897 began planning the construction of a municipal library.

M.E. Bell, supervising architect for U.S. Treasury Department building and planner of Wheaton’s courthouse, was chosen to design it. The cornerstone laid on Oct, 24, 1897, the Nichols Library at 110 S. Washington St. opened to the public on Sept. 22, 1898.

The 300 or so people who attended the opening celebration donated 200 books, which were added to the 500 already purchased by the library.

That first year, 639 books were checked out by patrons. By 1900, the number had increased tenfold to 7,000.

On Jan. 28, 1934, an arson fire damaged parts of the library’s 9,000-volume collection, furniture and supplies. However, restoration work was done quickly and the library reopened March 12, 1934.

A children’s room was expanded in 1939, and the Beckman Art Library Fund — a collection of art books and framed art reproductions — was added in 1948.

Demand for more space grew as Naperville’s population increased. In 1962, an addition was built to provide space for a new children’s room, adult reading room, stack area, art library, workroom and librarian’s room.

That was sufficient for about 20 more years. In 1983, voters approved a referendum to fund a new building and the new Nichols Library opened a few blocks away on Jefferson Avenue on March 11, 1986.

The original Nichols Library building was sold to Truth Lutheran Church for $600,000 on Dec. 19, 1995, nearly 100 years after it opened.

It was later sold to a developer who initially proposed tearing it down, an idea opposed by many in Naperville because of the building’s historical and architectural significance. After being made a city landmark in 2017, the developer included it as part of the Central Park Place residential/commercial development and it now houses the Gia Mia restaurant.

For more information about the Naperville Public Library, go to www.naperville-lib.org/177/History.

Andrea Field is the curator of history at Naper Settlement. For more information, go to www.NaperSettlement.org. Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.