Cleburne's Carnegie Library building has served as a literary and cultural center since 1905. In 1902-1903, the Women's Club, led by Julia Pittman Osborn, sought one-dollar donations from each "Progressive Man" in Cleburne, secured a $20,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation, and won the city's commitment to support a public library. The building housed the library from 1905 to 1978. During WWII, it also housed the War Information Center for the U.S. Information Service. In 1956, its name changed to the Cleburne Public Library, but overcrowding led to the library's move in 1978. Its upstairs theater was a popular venue for local performances from 1905 into the 1930s, when its use began to decline. In 1963, the eclectic history collection of local businessman and avid collector William Joseph Layland (1876-1940) was donated to the city and placed in the upstairs theater. In the 1970s, Mildred Armstrong Padon (1920-1995) led the building's conversion into the Layland Museum and served as curator from 1978 to 1993. The Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players later organized to rescue the theater and restore live performances to its stage.