Library opening tops year for Williamsburg

Finishing and moving into the Williamsburg Community Library was one of the highlights of the past year, Mayor David Staley said.

“We worked real hard on that for a couple of years,” he said. “I think that’s a real asset for this town.”

Williamsburg received a $376,000 Community Development Block Grant for a new library. The community had to match 40 percent of the grant.

Part of that match was done through volunteer labor, including work by local residents, as well as building trades students from Williamsburg and Pomona high schools.

The library sits in the city’s Santa Fe Park near the site of where Williamsburg’s original Santa Fe railroad depot was built.

The design was based on an old photo of the Williamsburg depot and Santa Fe’s plans archived at Kansas State Historical Society for depots for towns of Williamsburg’s size.

Williamsburg’s old library was crammed into the back of the city building with books shelved upon other books because of the lack of space.

Looking to the future of Williamsburg, Staley said he’d like to see more business come to town. He said Williamsburg is ideally located for a business like a distribution center, noting its proximity to Kansas City and Topeka.

“We’d like to draw business in so our town does grow,” he said, adding that the city council wants to gradually improve Williamsburg through city clean-ups and other methods.

“We’ll continue to try to work on it,” he said.