Eighty-five years is longer than the average lifetime. In 2026, the Allendale, Hampton, Jasper Regional Library System (AHJ Regional Library) will mark 85 years of continuous regional library service – an achievement rooted in more than a century of local effort, civic leadership, and public investment in access to information.  

Library service in Allendale began well before the county itself. In 1905, a group of citizens established a small public library housed in the offices of Mr. J. Patterson. When Allendale County was formed in 1919 and a new courthouse constructed, a small space was set aside for the public library. This made Allendale County Library one of South Carolina’s earliest county libraries. In 1950, the Allendale County Library and AHJ Regional Headquarters opened in the War Memorial Building on courthouse grounds. In 2011, library operations relocated to a renovated downtown Allendale building, now the Allendale County Learning Center, developed in partnership with Denmark Technical College. 

During the 1930s, library service expanded across the State as part of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program created to address unemployment and strengthen public infrastructure. At that time, three small libraries operated within what would later become the AHJ service area: Allendale (Allendale County), Fairfax (town), and Estill (Hampton County). 

In Estill, library service grew out of community organization. The Estill Book Club, founded in 1913 by twelve women, led to the establishment of the Estill Public Library in 1934. The original building was constructed on land donated by Mayor W.W. Baker Sr., giving the town a permanent library home.  

In Fairfax, the public library was housed in the Virginia Durant Young House. Mrs. Young operated the Fairfax Enterprise newspaper from the home, while her husband Dr. Young maintained his medical practice there. Following Mrs. Young’s death, the property was later willed to the Town of Fairfax for the use as a public library. The Fairfax Library Association was then formed on November 4, 1920 and oversees its administration. The Fairfax Public Library may not be part of the AHJ Regional Library, but who’s shared history and service area is vital in the telling our own story.  

Hampton County’s library history reflects both federal support and local initiative. The Hampton County Library was established in 1936 with the assistance of the WPA and was first housed in a Methodist Sunday School building. In 1941, it moved to the new county agricultural building. A central figure in sustaining library service was Home Demonstration Agent Miss Izora Miley, who promoted reading throughout rural communities – often transporting books in her own car years before formal bookmobile service existed in the region. Miss Miley later served on the library board and donated the land on which the Hampton County Library was built in 1976. The facility was expanded and remodeled in the mid 2010’s.  

In March 1941, South Carolina’s first multi-county regional library system was formed: The Allendale, Barnwell, Hampton (ABH) Regional Library System. Initially supported by the WPA Library Project, the system received funding for staff, collection, equipment, and a bookmobile. By 1942, as wartime employment reduced unemployment nationwide, WPA support ended. Barnwell County withdrew from the system later that year, leaving Allendale and Hampton counties to continue regional service with limited funding and significant reliance on volunteers.  

Despite these challenges, regional service endured. In October 1947, Jasper County joined the partnership, creating the Allendale, Hampton, Jasper Regional Library System. Early library service in Jasper County was sponsored by the County Council of Farm Women, with leadership from Home Demonstration Agent Mrs. Betty Berry.  

The Jasper County Library – now the F. R. Pratt Memorial Library – was later transformed through a major philanthropic gift. In 1970, Mrs. Richard Webel funded the renovation and restoration of a building in Ridgeland in memory of her late husband, F. R. Pratt. The library was dedicated in November 1971 and included landscaped grounds designed by her husband, architect Richard Webel. In 2025, the library temporarily relocated while Jasper County undertook a comprehensive renovation of the historic building, with reopening planned for 2026.  

In 1961, the South Carolina State Library Board explored expanding regional service to include five counties (Allendale, Hampton, Jasper, Colleton, and Beaufort). While the proposed expansion did not materialize, the effort resulted in increased local funding for AHJ Regional Library System and the acquisition of a new bookmobile, and it encouraged the establishment of formal countywide library service in Beaufort County.  

The system’s survival through its early decades is credited to sustained local leadership, including Regional Board Chair Mrs. James M. Patterson; Regional Librarian Mrs. Louise Brunson, who served from 1940-1971; and library assistant Mrs. Lillian Howard. Their efforts helped preserve regional library service during periods of financial and structural uncertainty.  

In 1974, AHJ Regional Library System hired its first professional trained librarian, marking a turning point for the system. Professional leadership supported service expansion, stronger collections, and the addition of new branches including the Estill Public Library and the Hardeeville Community Library. 

The Hardeeville Community Library began as a grassroots effort, operating from a repurposed washhouse once used by the Argent Lumber Company. The building was relocated by the Phillips family to a site near the town playground and later identified as a potential home for a community library. As local needs grew, Town Administrator Bob Baggs and a group of residents advanced plans for a permanent library, supported by donations of funds, labor, materials, and books from individuals, businesses, churches, and civic organizations.  

Officially opening its doors February 27, 1977 the Hardeeville Community Library’s demand for service outpaced its facility within a year. In 1979, local donors provided land for a new building, and the Friends of the Hardeeville Library led fundraising efforts. Jasper County Council contributed $25,000 in 1981, followed by a $10,000 state grant. The new library was dedicated in 1983. In 2016, the City of Hardeeville and Jasper County partnered to build a new library facility using city, county and federal grant and loan funds.  

The late 1990s and early 2000s brought significant plans for facility investments across the system by the individual counties who owned and funded operations within the buildings. Today, the Allendale, Hampton, Jasper Regional Library System is governed by a Regional Library Board composed of members appointed from each county’s library board and operates with a consolidated budget. The system’s structure reflects a long-standing commitment to shared governance and regional cooperation.  

This article is part of the Allendale, Hampton, Jasper Regional Library System’s 85th Anniversary series. We will be unearthing additional stories throughout 2026 exploring the people, places, and programs that shaped the Regional Systems history.  

Sources: 

Allendale County, SC. (2025). Allendale County Library. https://www.allendalecounty.com/visitors/allendale_county_library.php 

AHJ Regional Library. (2025) History. Retrieved December 19, 2025, from https://ahjlibrary.org/history/ 

Walker, E. P. (1981). “So good and necessary a work”: The public library in South Carolina, 1968–1980. South Carolina State Library. 

Historic photos are accessed from the Digital Collections from the University of South Carolina Libraries. https://digital.library.sc.edu/