WOODWARD, Iowa – The Woodward Public Library, with help from the Woodward Public Works Department, recently erected a community digital sign at the trailhead of the Trestle Bridge on Main Street.

The sign will be used to inform the public of upcoming events in the city.

“Ever since the community lost their local newspaper in 2002, citizens have asked for a place where the information could be released,” said Woodward Public Library Director Myrna Griffith. “The library hopes this will only be a way to communicate with its citizens. “

The sign project was completed at the end of November, with the first ad posted on December 7.

Griffith said Woodward Public Library will face the sign’s concrete base with bricks in the spring. Some of the bricks will be engraved with the names of those who helped make the project possible, she said.

The sign was paid for by a grant from the Dallas County Foundation, with matching funds raised through fundraising events, community jar donations placed by several businesses in the community, and assistance from the Town of Woodward.

Also in 2021, the Woodward Public Library completed its long-awaited project to digitize the old city newspapers, the Woodward Enterprise and the Northeast Dallas County Record, which were published from 1907 to 2002, as well as the Bouton Press, which has lasted from 1916 to 1931.

The digital archives are accessible on the library website, Griffith said. The digitization project was made possible through grants from the Dallas County Foundation, the Bock Family Foundation, and local fundraisers. The library website is a rich resource for history, genealogy, and other interesting things from the past.

Myrna Griffith is the Director of the Woodward Public Library.