In 1880, Fred Fulkerson built a general store in the village of Algansee, and it has been in continuous operation as a store ever since. In the first years of the 20th Century, Ora Safford bought the store, lending it the name of Safford’s Store that is painted on the front windows still today. The store is also known as Dove’s store, after Safford’s daughter, Gwen, and her husband, Roy Dove, purchased the store in the late 1930s and ran it until their passing in the 1990s.
Thanks to a Kellogg Foundation grant in 1938, the store was chosen as the place to also house the village’s first library. Doris (Dove) Williams, Gwen’s sister-in-law, was the first librarian. At the time the library was known as the “Algansee Unit of the Branch County Library”.
1948
1948
In 1963, the county closed the library in favor of a bi-monthly bookmobile route to the area. This idea was not well received, however, and in February 1964 the Branch County Library Board authorized the re-opening of the Algansee Branch, at the same location as before. Doris was the librarian until Hazel (Dove) Wilkinson was hired in 1966. Gwen Dove was the next librarian, though the exact date she started is hazy.
The library remained at Dove’s/Safford's Store for the next six decades. Throughout much of this time, Gwen Dove was both storekeeper and librarian. The library itself was housed in a single small room in the front that was no longer used for store business.
Living in the apartment above the store, Gwen was able to keep the Algansee library open more hours than any other Branch County library at the time. The Coldwater Daily Reporter noted in 1964 that the library’s hours were 8am to 9pm daily! By 1978, the newspaper reported that hours had been reduced just a little: from 9am to 9pm, and only six days a week.
The 1990s brought many changes to the library. The Branch County Library reorganized as the Branch District Library (BDL) in 1991. The library’s catalog was computerized in 1995, and dial-up Internet access came to what was now known as the Algansee Branch Library. Gwen Dove ran the library until she passed in early 1998, and her granddaughter-in-law, Lisa Wood, became branch manager soon after. Lisa went on to become manager of the Quincy Branch, staying with BDL for many years until her retirement in 2022. Gwen’s daughter, Joy (Dove) Wood, ran the store next, and in 2025 Lisa Wood began taking an active role in store operations. In this way, the Dove family stayed involved with the library and store for almost 90 years.
The early 2000s brought even more changes as the Internet and search engines changed how many people used libraries. In the fall of 2000, the library moved from the front room of the store to a larger space in the rear, and 4 computers for use by the public were added thanks to a grant from the Gates Foundation. Branch managers Lynnell Eash and Jan Clark increased the number of events presented to the public, cementing the library as an important gathering place in the community.
2021
By 2008, dial-up Internet access was no longer sufficient for most people, and certainly not for a library, so the Branch District Library partnered with Algansee Township to erect a broadcast tower that would provide high-speed wireless Internet access to a large swath of the township.
Throughout the 2010s and beyond, library services have included more in-person events, spaces to meet, as well as circulating larger items as part of our library of things collection. An aging population also requires accessible facilities. All of these needs put a strain on how effective our small library in Algansee could be for the community.
Algansee Township decided in 2025 to build a new township hall next to the old hall. BDL and the township then partnered to renovate the old hall—which dated from 1877 with a 2008 addition—into a vibrant new library space. Branch Manager Teresa Shilling worked hard to coordinate with all the parties involved in the renovation while she planned for moving the entire library two miles up the road at the end of December 2025.
Opening in the new location on January 5, 2026 with increased hours and increased potential, Teresa and all the BDL staff are excited for everyone to see the results of our efforts. With three times the area inside, a fully accessible layout, and ample parking, BDL looks forward to building on our rich legacy in Algansee with this new space alongside our township partners and the entire community!
John Rucker, Director
December 23, 2025
