This building was originally constructed in 1954 to house the Canton Library with funds from the Champion Paper Foundation, and the brick structure was dedicated that same year with North Carolina Governor William B. Umstead and Champion Paper officials, including chairman of the board Reuben B. Robertson, participating. A hand painted mural by nature artist Joy Postle, commissioned by the Robertson family, forms a surrounding border on the first floor. In later years, an addition was built for the expanding children's section, and for a time part of the basement housed the local health department. In 1990, after the library moved to a new location, the building became the home of the Canton Area History Museum.