Saving ‘treasure of information’: City of Tyler’s lease to Smith County Historical Society not renewed

TYLER, Texas ( KETK ) – The Smith County Historical Society will need to find a new home after the City of Tyler decided not to renew their current lease.

Controversy has erupted on social media since the lease change as people ponder the fate of the historic building. Currently, the organization is housed at the Old Carnegie Library on 125 College Ave in Tyler.

Since 1984, the society had an auto renewal lease every five years with the city. However, the city has reportedly chosen not to renew the lease so restorations can be done to the building.

“At no cost to the society, they’ve been located there and at this point we were looking to let them know that we are not going to renew the lease,” Stephanie Franklin, Tyler deputy city manager, said.

The historical society said they do not want to go anywhere.

“ A lot of people don’t realize what’s in here, it’s a treasure of information,” Smith County Historical Society board president Larry Wade said.

According to the City of Tyler, relocation talks with the non-profit have been going on for about a year. This included a proposal to work together and help the historical society archive, store and catalog their property.

“We could have our city library staff come in and help manage and maintain the building and staff it,” Franklin said. “That’s what’s most important is just supporting the ability for people to come in and out of the facility and then also help them archive all of the things that have been donated over the years that they are storing on the property and catalog, all of that. Then possibly even restore the museum aspect of the building.”

Wade said they denied the city’s proposal.

“We were hoping that they would realize the value of us being here and we really hope that they will change their minds,” Wade said.

On Aug. 6 Wade said he received the notice that their five year lease would end Sept. 30.

“I wouldn’t say it came out of nowhere, but we were surprised because we were hoping that they would not want us to leave after a year,” Wade said.

The City of Tyler wants to renovate the Old Carnegie Library and make it a major downtown destination.

“The city is looking at doing major renovations to downtown and the Carnegie Library is a historical icon and we want it to be utilized for all of the public,” Franklin said. “Whether that’s special events, conferences, getting the public in and out of it and restoring it back to museum and library as part of that. We just want to make sure that it is a property that everyone can have a part in and visit.”

A common goal that the city and historical society share is having more visitors. However, there isn’t common ground right now on how to get there.

“I think we are at a crossroads now and we are looking to the future,” Wade said. “I hope that the city and the community will work with us, not against us, to realize that we are doing what we can.”

Wade said the building houses artifacts from the 1800’s and is most afraid of the preservation in the moving process.

The society’s board will discuss next steps during their Sept. 3 meeting.

“I think that what got sort of misunderstood was we were just kicking them out of the building and not wanting to be a partner alongside that transition,” Franklin said. “That’s really not the way we intended it to happen at all, and we hope we can be a part of that conversation moving forward.”

Franklin said it’s possible for the society to work with the city after renovations in a different role.

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