 William Parlin, Sr., the founder of Canton's most prosperous business in the Parlin & Orendorff Company, bequeathed the money for the library in his estate when he died in 1890; his estate provided $8000 for the building and its collection, while an additional $5000 came from a library tax.The Peoria architectural firm of Richardson & Salter designed the Richardsonian Romanesque library.The library's collection included 1,000 books when it opened, a figure which increased to 8,000 by 1908; it also included a large art gallery.