National Register of Historic Places

Defiance Public Library

Defiance, Defiance County, Ohio
Listed
October 31, 1985
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
85003446

About this property

The Defiance Public Library is a historic Carnegie library located in Defiance, Ohio. It was built in 1904 with funds from Andrew Carnegie and was designed by architects Wing & Mahurin. The Tudor Revival-style building includes stained glass, a red sandstone façade, and picture windows overlooking the junction the Maumee and Auglaize Rivers and of the Defiance Fort Grounds. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The notion of a library like service was first devised by a formation of twenty-five men in 1867, determined to better the intellectual prosperity of the residents in Defiance, Ohio. While these men worked towards furthering the education of the city, official library services were not performed until the 1870s. In the year 1873, these men established what was known as the Defiance Library Association (DLA), which would begin the first ever official library services for the city of Defiance. This association would spend the next few decades providing an assortment of library services, for a summable fee, despite not possessing any sort of solid location for their collection. From this point forward, library services would be provided in a number of various local buildings and businesses for the next thirty years. With a distinct lack of security for the library’s collection, the members of the DLA wrote to the Carnegie Foundation in order to procure the funds to establish a permanent location. In 1904, the DLA was gifted the sum of $22,000 towards the building of the public library’s first permanent residence on the Fort Defiance grounds. Building began immediately and would finish, open for public use on July 4, 1905.

Location

320 Fort St.
Defiance, Defiance County, Ohio
41.28785, -84.35858

Categories

EDUCATIONARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
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

Fort Defiance Park
Early Republic
0.1 mi
Holgate Avenue Historic District
Listed
0.5 mi
East Side Fire Station
Industrial
0.6 mi
Speaker, Charles, House
Industrial
0.9 mi
Latty, Judge Alexander, House
Industrial
0.9 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Fallen Timbers approach at Fort Defiance
1794Early Republic
2.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Defiance Public Library listed on the National Register?

Defiance Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 31, 1985.

What type of historic resource is Defiance Public Library?

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

What is the period of significance for Defiance Public Library?

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

Can I research the history near Defiance Public Library?

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