In 1929 Mr. Earle W. Webb, Sr., CEO of Ethyl Corporation in NYC and native Morehead City resident, began construction of a commercial building on the corner of 9th and Evans Streets in downtown Morehead City, North Carolina. 

For the first few years the building had doctor's offices downstairs and a training facility for the local garment factory upstairs.  When the upstairs noise became too much for the downstairs occupants the garment factory left.  Mrs. Webb, a member of the Morehead Woman's Club, asked her husband if the club could move it's 300 book library to one of the upstairs rooms.  When he agreed the library was moved. 

A few years later, in 1936, the Webb's son, Earle W. Webb, Jr. became ill and died.  In honor of their son, Mr. and Mrs. Webb dedicated the building as the Earle W. Webb Jr. Memorial Library and Civic Center and opened it to all the citizens of Morehead City for community use. 

In 2003 the trust supporting the facility was no longer viable.  At that time several interested citizens petitioned the town of Morehead City for help and the town council agreed to help with the day to day costs while a steering committee researched level of interest in the community to maintain a library and gathering place for it's citizens.  The steering committee recommended that the town take over full support of the library and in 2007 the town and the Webb family agreed on terms that would allow the town to keep the library and the building. 

Today the building is more familiarly called The Webb and provides services for locals and visitors from all over North Carolina and beyond.  The book collection has grown to over 11,000 books and there are 7 public use computers.  In August 2009, the library celebrated it's 75th year of service to the public.