George Davidson settled the bluff overlooking Little Shoal Creek in 1815 as he was platting Greenville, at a time when books and print were scarce on the frontier and the National Road was pressing west from Cumberland, Md., carrying settlers of a young nation. As Illinois' population grew from 157,445 in 1830 to 851,470 in 1850, expanding communities increased demand for teachers, schools, and print, but long distances and dirt roads kept many rural students from education beyond grade school. With affordable automobiles in the 1900s and later efforts to improve rural roads and consolidate schools, high schools became more accessible. In January 1856, four Greenville women planned a subscription-based library, and by August the founders of the Ladies' Library Association were keeping books in the parlor closet of charter member Almira Morse. During the next 50 years, the collection outgrew private homes, rented rooms above a pharmacy, and shelves in the Bond County courthouse. In 1903, after Andrew Carnegie pledged $10,000 for construction, the city provided land and tax revenue for a permanent library, which opened in August 1905 with about 3,000 books.