Carnegie Public Library
About this property
The Carnegie Public Library in East Liverpool, Ohio, is a public library located at 219 East Fourth Street. The construction of the library, which opened in 1902, was funded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, whose uncle lived in East Liverpool. Along with the Steubenville, Ohio library, it was the first library in Ohio funded by Carnegie. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 1980. In 1899 T.Y. Travis and M.E. Miskall contacted Andrew Carnegie asking him for a donation of a library for East Liverpool. Carnegie pledged $50,000 for the building of the library on the stipulation that the city would provide land and $3,000 a year for maintenance. In August 1899 the Bradshaw Farm property was purchased by a group of citizens of East Liverpool and held in trust until the city could purchase it. Construction of the library began in 1900. It was built with Roman mottled buff-brown brick trimmed with white tile. The lobby is of ceramic mosaic, the wainscoting of Italian marble and the solid brass hardware. Charles Henry Owsley, a British architect who had immigrated to Youngstown, Ohio, designed the building. As the library neared completion donations of good, worthwhile books were requested. The first librarian hired to run the library was Gertrude A. Baker of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. On May 8, 1902, the library was dedicated and officially opened to the public. At this time the 2,505 volumes from the other city library were transferred to the Carnegie Library. A year after the opening, the librarian reported that there were 5,992 volumes and 2,081 members. In the first year, according to the librarian, the library was so popular with patrons that it loaned more books each month than were actually in the library. Until 1931, the library experienced financial difficulties. In that year, however, the library became eligible for county funds. Since then the library has operated through state and county funds. In 1907 the local historical society established a museum in the West Room of the second floor and then later expanded to include pottery displays in the East Room displaying works from over 50 local potteries. The museum and pottery displays remained in the library until the Museum of Ceramics was opened in the 1970s. The upper East Room of the library was used by the Red Cross for project work such as rolling bandages during World War I. The library possessed 25,000 volumes by 1940, but none were catalogued. Kenneth Emerick was hired in 1950 to perform the cataloguing duties when the library holdings had reached 36,000 volumes. He worked until 1955 when the work was taken over by Beatrice Davidson. The library collection was increasing at a rate of approximately 4,000 volumes per year. By the mid-1960s there were 75,000 volumes, all catalogued. By 1975, the library held 120,000 volumes.
Location
Categories
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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Questions about this property
When was Carnegie Public Library listed on the National Register?
Carnegie Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 11, 1980.
What type of historic resource is Carnegie Public Library?
Carnegie Public Library is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Carnegie Public Library?
The period of significance for Carnegie Public Library is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Carnegie Public Library?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Carnegie Public Library will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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