Ghosts of Wayne County - Woosters 1905 Carnegie library. From the Wayne County Public Library web page: When Andrew Carnegie gave the College of Wooster money to rebuild buildings destroyed in a fire, the Library committee asked for financial help to build a new library. After some negotiation, Carnegie agreed to contribute $15,000. A site was purchased at the corner of Market and Larwill Streets, and construction began. The building was designed by architect Vernon Redding and built by John King. The building was completed in 1905 for a total cost of $22,300. It was never officially named a Carnegie library despite Carnegies funding. To access funds from the intangible taxes, the Library was put under the authority of the City School Board. By 1911, the Library collection had grown to over 6,300 books and a card catalog was in place. A museum on the second floor of the Library officially opened in 1918. It housed many relics and archeological specimens from Wayne County. It remained opened until 1958 when it was moved to the Wayne County Historical Society. During World War I, the Library collaborated with the College of Wooster Library to send books to the soldiers in camps in North Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey. Not so fun fact: In 1918 the Spanish Influenza spread across Europe and came to the United States with returning WWI soldiers. Due to illness, that October the Library was only open 7 days, 19 days in November, and was closed all of December and January.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 19:23:54 +0000