Editing Alva, Florida (section)

==Historic library and museum==
Alva is the home of a small library dating back to 1909 and a chapel that opened in 1901. The Alva Library was the first library in what is today Lee County and was constructed in the [[Classical Revival architecture|classical revival]] style.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alva Library Museum Rehabilitation|url=http://www.stevensonarchitects.com/portfolios/alva-library-museum-rehabilitation/|website=Stevenson Architects|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref>

The Alva Library grew from the private Alva Book Club into the first public library in southwest Florida, thanks in part to donation of land from Captain Peter Nelson. The founder of the book club and Alva's first librarian was Esther Hovey. The library closed in 1937, but the building continued in use over the years for various purposes such as high school art classes and a community center. In 1974, the Alva Garden Club turned the building into a museum with the Library Association trustees' permission.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alva Library & Museum|url=http://www.alvaflmuseum.com/about-us.html|website=Alva Library & Museum|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref>

Both the library and the 1901 chapel are open to the public and house the town's nonprofit museum, featuring [[Seminole]] artifacts and objects from the town's founding families.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bennett Williams|first1=Amy|title=Reading, open house fundraiser at 1909 Alva Library|url=http://www.news-press.com/story/life/2015/11/29/reading-open-house-fundraiser-1909-alva-library/76225428/|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref>