A public library was first established in the small Wapello County, Iowa, community of Eldon in 1906, when a private group raised sufficient funds to rent a second-story room above a downtown local business. Within two years, a formal library association had been incorporated under state laws and recurring financial support of the library was transferred to the city. By 1911, efforts began to secure a Carnegie library grant for construction of a permanent library building.

A $7,500 grant was awarded and construction began in 1912. The new library opened and was dedicated in May 1913, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The Eldon Public Library is open six days weekly.