National Register of Historic Places

Southworth Library

Dryden, Tompkins County, New York
Listed
June 7, 1984
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
84003195

About this property

Southworth Library is a historic library building located at Dryden in Tompkins County, New York. It is a 1+1⁄2-story masonry building with a steeply pitched gable roof. It features a prominent bell tower with a Seth Thomas clock and circular windows include carved stone gargoyles. It is a distinctive, small scale example of Eclectic style civic architecture. It was designed with open grid flooring in stack rooms to facilitate air circulation and two reading rooms. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The library was founded by Jennie McGraw. It opened in an existing building on South and Main Streets on September 25, 1884 and later in a building constructed for the library in 1894. McGraw was the granddaughter of John Southworth of Dryden, who became a millionaire working as a farmer. She used money to create a memorial to her mother and grandfather by establishing a $30,000 trust fund to build and maintain a library in Dryden. On April 22, 1883, the Southworth Library Association was incorporated.

Location

24 W. Main St.
Dryden, Tompkins County, New York
42.49073, -76.29910

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Jennings-Marvin House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Clarke, Luther, House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Methodist Episcopal Church
Civil War
0.1 mi
Lacy-Van Vleet House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Southworth House
Industrial
0.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Southworth Library listed on the National Register?

Southworth Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 1984.

What type of historic resource is Southworth Library?

Southworth Library is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Southworth Library?

The period of significance for Southworth Library is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Southworth Library?

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