The Charles Town Library has existed for nearly 100 years. Like the people it has served for generations, its history has highs and lows, positive and negative events. We are documenting this history and recording, when we can, the voices of those who experienced it firsthand.

This is the story of “Miss Ollie” Blessing, who brought the gift of reading in the early 1900s to the children of Charles Town – all children, white and black, at a time when a color line was held tight in the county, keeping people of color separated in restaurants, stores and schools. For more information, please visit http://www.ctlibrary.org

The Charles Town Library is located in Charles Town, West Virginia, about seven miles from Harpers Ferry. This town and Jefferson County have been the site of historic events since before it was founded by Charles Washington, President George Washington’s younger brother.