Sarah Poage Caldwell Butler

Sarah Poage Caldwell Butler (August 21, 1892–December 2, 1983) was a librarian and civic leader known for her work in getting a public library established in Roanoke, Virginia.[1]

For other people named Sarah Butler, see Sarah Butler (disambiguation).
Sarah Poage Caldwell Butler
Butler speaking at the library opening in 1921
BornAugust 21, 1892
DiedDecember 2, 1983(1983-12-02) (aged 91)
Known forRoanoke Public Library

When Butler returned to Virginia after being a children's librarian in New York City for several years, she became interested in forming a public library to serve the city.[2] She was part of a group of many civic organizations, including the Woman's Civic Betterment Club, which formed the Roanoke Library Association in 1920 with Butler as its first president. A month later they had formed a plan to renovate a vacant mansion to house the city's new library. The city agreed with the plan but required the organization to raise $30,000 to provide the books and library furnishings.[3] The Roanoke Public Library formally opened in May of 1921 with Butler as its first president, speaking at the opening.[4] Later that same year, working with civic leaders Miss Lucy Addison, Dr. Arthur L. James, and Dr. L. Downing, Butler helped the library open a branch in the Gainsboro community for Roanoke's Black citizens who had also been part of the fundraising campaign for the library.[1][2]

Butler was also interested in gardening and joined the Roanoke Valley Garden Club in 1925, which became a member club of the Garden Club of Virginia in 1929. The club handled the landscaping around the main library branch for which they won the Garden Club of Virginia's Massie Distinguished Achievement Medal in 1930. Butler held many leadership roles in the Garden Club, ultimately serving as its president from 1950 to 1952.[1]

Early life and education

Butler was born in Wytheville, Virginia to Manley Morrison Caldwell, a lawyer, and Willie Brown Walker Caldwell, a civic leader. The family moved to Roanoke for the school system. Her mother was a civic leader who was an organizer of the local Woman's Civic Betterment Club. She graduated from Roanoke City High School and Mary Baldwin University, and then graduated from Pratt Institute Library School in 1913. She worked at Cleveland Public Library as part of a training program and returned to New York to take a job at New York Public Library. She married William Wilson Samuel Butler, a doctor, on On December 5, 1917. The wedding announcement called her "one of the most popular and interesting girls of Roanoke's youngest set."[5] Her husband joined the war effort and worked first in Brooklyn and then was re-assigned to Roanoke. The couple had two sons, William Wilson Samuel Butler III and Manley Caldwell Butler who served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1983.[1] She died on December 2, 1983 and was buried in Roanoke's Evergreen Cemetery.[1]

The Roanoke Public Library board commissioned a bronze sculpture as a memorial to her which was installed at the library in Elmwood Park in 1988.[1]

References
  1. Kneebone, John T. (1983-12-02). "Sarah Poage Caldwell Butler Biography". Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  2. Virginia, Historical Society of Western (2012-07-01). "One Year in Roanoke: 1921". TheRoanoker.com. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  3. "Intense Drive For Library Will be Conducted Here". World News. Vol. 35, no. 82. April 5, 1920. p. 16. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  4. "Davis2 15.1 Roanoke Public Library Celebration · Virginia Room Digital Collection". Virginia Room – Roanoke Public Library's Genealogy and Local History Department. 1921-05-21. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  5. "Society -- Attends wedding". The News Leader. Staunton VA. December 17, 1917. p. 6. Retrieved 20 May 2021.


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