Library History & Gardens

The Hood River County Library traces its origins to the 1880s, when Georgiana Smith sold ice cream at Fourth of July celebrations to raise funds for a county reading room. With the help of local women and a $17,500 Carnegie Foundation grant, the original brick library building opened its doors in 1913, and Hood River County’s first publicly-funded library opened on September 13, 1913. After founder Ezra Smith died in 1921, his daughters honored his wishes in 1935 by deeding surrounding land to the county for a park named after their mother, and the library and park together were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. That same year, the Library Foundation formed to lead a $4 million fundraising drive to remodel and expand the library, and in 1999 the Stoltz family donated an adjoining lot to expand the Gardens further. Following the closure of the county-run library department, citizens voted on November 2, 2010 to establish the Hood River County Library District as its own special district, creating a dedicated property tax levy to fund ongoing library services for the community. Since then, sustained property tax support paired with generous community donations and volunteer efforts has kept the library and its grounds growing to meet the needs of the people it serves

Georgiana Smith Memorial Gardens