From 1909 until 1998, the Transylvania Club, a group of 36 ladies, provided library service for Sandersville. The library was first housed in the Masonic building until it burned in 1921. In 1925, the Club purchased the antebellum residence of Colonel Richard Lee Irwin on the town square. An addition was built in 1972 and housed the library until it merged with the Washington County Public Library to form the Rosa M. Tarbutton Memorial Library. With the sale of the Georgia Historical Plates, artistically created by Louise Irwin, and financial support from the City of Sandersville, Washington County, and Friends of the Library, the Transylvania Club was able to give the community a library for nearly ninety years.
