The library, partially funded by a Carnegie grant, corresponds to the preferred Carnegie architectural formula: a high basement, an elevated main floor, and biaxial symmetry about a central pavilion. Constructed of red brick with white stone trim, the library mediates between classicism and Colonial Revival. The entrance portico has a pediment supported by two pairs of Tuscan columns. A modern steel-and-glass addition to the rear does not intrude on the library’s historic character. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this library is that it is the only building in Texas still owned by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU); it is leased to the county. The WCTU forced the closing of saloons in Canadian in a dry election in 1903. Hemphill is one of eleven dry counties in Texas.