City of Lodi history

During the month of September, 1870, J. W. Spencer and John Flannagan commenced the erection of the Spencer House; it was completed during the following winter and opened in February as a hotel by Edward Olwell and Mr.

The first school in town was built in 1872.

I. O. G. T., was organized October 19, 1877, with the following persons for its first officers: J. H. White, W. C. t.; Mrs.

The first newspaper, the Valley Review, began publishing in 1878.

256, F. & A. M. ., was organized in 1879, with twelve charter members, and Ralph Ellis as the first master.

The Lodi Sentinel was first established July 9, 1881, by W.R. Ellis and J. W. McQuaid, from Napa County.

The establishment afterward fell into the hands of George S. Locke, the mortgagee, and he ran it occasionally until the spring of 1882, when Sperry & Co., of Stockton, rented it and ran the mills at intervals for about eighteen months.

In the spring of 1883 a division took place, and out of the old society was formed Salem Lodge, No.

The former is now proprietor of the Woodland Daily Mail; the latter sold to his partner in 1885 and is now connected with the Marysville Democrat.

In July 7, 1887, the office was accidentally destroyed by fire, with but little insurance.

The Lodi Bank was incorporated June 7, 1888, and does a general banking business.

The Lodi Planing Mills were started in operation about the middle of April, 1889, by Huestis who now runs the mill, manufacturing furniture and building material, both redwood and pine.

The Lodi Woman's Club was founded then in November 1894, to meet a goal of mental stimulation and social relaxation.

The Woman's Club's first library committee began in 1899.

A library was finally established in 1901.

In June 1904, the Woman's Club petitioned the Village of Lodi to make accommodations for a library in the City Hall construction they were contemplating.

George Lawrence was elected as the first mayor in 1906.

The Lodi Mission Arch, designed by architect E. B. Brown, was built in 1907, the year after Lodi became an incorporated city.

City Hall was built at 113 South Main Street in 1914 and - thanks to the Woman's Club - it did include space in the front part of the building for the library.

In February 1946, the Woman's Club again petitioned the City of Lodi - this time for more room; the Fire Department was planning to move, and the women requested that space for library expansion.

*Quotes from "The Story of the Lodi Woman's Club and the Woman's Club Free Library" by Grace Irwin Brainerd, November 1947

When City Hall was damaged by fire on July 7, 1960, the library temporarily moved to the old post office at 119 Lodi Street for a nine-month period during remodeling.

It took two committees and until 1979 for Lodi and the other seven libraries in Columbia County to join the South Central Library System.

A planning process began in 1984 to research the future of the library's needs.

Eventually, in March of 1988, the library board and the Common Council decided to purchase and remodel the building being vacated by the State Bank of Lodi at 130 Lodi Street.