Cattermole Memorial Library

The first library in Fort Madison was a reading room established in the late 1870s by the White Ribbon Society, a local temperance group. It grew to such an extent that by 1884 the City Circulation Library was founded.[2] This collection formed the nucleus of what would become the Cattermole Memorial Library in the next decade. Elizabeth Cattermole funded the construction of the building as a memorial for her husband Henry. He had made his fortune in pork packing and banking. Henry had stipulated in his will that $10,000 be used to build a training school. It was an insufficient amount of money to build the school so the money was set aside. Elizabeth recognized the need for a public library in Fort Madison and contributed $30,000 towards the effort to build a new building.[3] She also contributed $500 towards the purchase of new books. This is the earliest extant example of local philanthropic support in Iowa for the construction of a building dedicated for use as a public library.[2] Elizabeth died before the project was completed.

Architecturally, the building is a combination of the Loire chateau and Richardsonian Romanesque styles.[2] The exterior of the 2½-story structure is composed of brick with terracotta and stone trim. It is capped with a hipped roof. Roof dormers are located on the north and west elevations. The dominate feature of the building is a corner tower with a conical roof. An addition was added to the rear of the building in 1954.