What is now the Rhinelander District Library began in 1897 as a subscription library maintained by the Rev. Joseph H. Chandler.  The Chandler books, as well as those from a second, privately maintained reading room, formed the nucleus of the first free public library collection.

The Rhinelander Public Library opened its doors on March 2, 1898, in Room 10 of the Merchants State Bank building.  Miss Inez Van Tassel was appointed to act as librarian, presiding initially over 600 volumes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m.