The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Brumback marks National Library Week

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

This week — National Library Week — is a special week for Brumback Library, which is celebrating its 117th year of existence, as well as its honored position as the first public county library in the United States.

Brumback Library’s main branch in downtown Van Wert. file photo

The man mostly responsible for the creation of the library — and for which it is named — John Sanford Brumback, was born in 1829 in Licking County and endured a number of hardships as a child, including the death of his father when he was only 4 years old. Brumback, one of six children, had to help his mother tend the family’s 40-acre farm, attending school in the winter when he was not needed on the farm. At the age of 10, he was entrusted with taking the produce to market; at 15, his mother boasted of his horse-trading skills; at 17, he left the farm with $50 and opened a general store.

In the spring of 1862, Brumback moved his family to Van Wert and opened a dry goods store with an investment of $5,000 in gold; he also became interested in the barrel stave industry — a business that also provided the underpinning of the fortune of another local philanthropist: George Marsh.

Twenty years later, Brumback became an early president of Central Mutual Insurance Company, serving in that capacity until 1897. In 1884, he sold his dry goods store, bought a controlling interest in Van Wert National Bank, and also became its president, helping to create many companies and earning a reputation as a keen businessman, banker, and philanthropist.

Also at that time, community interest in creating a library resulted in a group of 12 local women forming the Van Wert Ladies Library Association and creating a subscription library for area residents. The library, which contained 1,400 books, became a free city library in 1896 as a result of a city tax for that purpose.

Brumback got involved, offering free financial support because he believed strongly that all county residents should have access to a free public library. He also had plans drawn up for a new public library building, but became seriously ill and died before the library could be constructed.

Following his death, his family carried on his wishes, creating an even larger and more substantial building than Brumback had originally planned. Brumback’s son, Orville, was also responsible for developing legislation later adopted by the Ohio General Assembly approving Brumback Library as the first tax-supported county library in the nation.

The cornerstone for the main library on West Main Street was laid on July 18, 1899. The library, which took nearly 1½ years to construct, was dedicated January 1, 1901. No expense was spared in the library, which was designed by Toledo architect David L. Stine and built by contractor J.S. Zook of Van Wert. The library, a combination of Gothic and Romanesque design, with a Ludowici tile roof and turreted towers, is also sited on a large, parklike lot, as originally requested by John Sanford Brumback.

Through the years, the Brumback family has continued to provide financial support for the library, including a 1917 renovation that remodeled the library basement into a Children’s Department, as well as a more extensive project in 1991 that added 10,500 square feet of space and completely renovated the interior of the building. That project was funded through a bequest from J.S. Brumback’s grandchildren: Orville and Ellen Reed.

The newly-created addition was named the Reed Memorial Addition in memory of the Reed siblings’ parents, John Perry Reed and Estelle Brumback Reed, and their brother, Richard Reed. The addition was designed by Columbus architect Clyde Henry.

New lighting and new wiring needed for a library computer system were also added at that time, and Internet access and a computerized circulation system were provided for library patrons.

In 1979, the Brumback Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and, in 2001, the Ohio Historical Society recognized it a historic site.

In addition to the main building, Brumback Library also expanded its branch system in 1997, increasing the number of branches from three (Convoy, Wren, and Willshire) to five, adding facilities in Middle Point and Ohio City, and renovating or building new branches in Convoy and Wren. In 2007, a renovated facility was opened in Willshire.

In 1991, the Brumback Library system had a circulation of 247,707. Twenty-five years later, in 2016, circulation totaled 990,205. Today, Brumback Library provides printed books, e-books, books on CD, wireless Internet access, and Internet workstations, as well as a wide array of other materials for Van Wert County residents, encompassing one of the largest rural public library collections in Ohio.

The local library consistently ranks as one of the nation’s best, and has been designated a prestigious Star Library by Library Journalfor the past seven years.

To celebrate National Library Week, which was established in 1958 by the American Library Association, as well as its own 117-year history, Brumback Library has planned the following special activities for the week:

Monday, April 9

Main Library

10:45 a.m. – Story time at Thomas Edison Learning Center.

6:30 p.m. – Family story time.

Willshire Branch

6-8 p.m. – Open house

6 p.m. – Story time.

Wren Branch

1 p.m. – Story time.

Tuesday, April 10

Main Library

10 a.m. – Infant and Toddler story time

10:30 a.m. – Preschool story time

4-6 p.m. – National Library Week farm-themed party for preschool to sixth grade children

Middle Point Branch

4-6 p.m. – Open house

Wren Branch

4-6 p.m. – Open house

Wednesday, April 11

Main Library

9:45 a.m. – Vantage Preschool tour and story time

10:30 a.m. – Preschool story time

Thursday, April 12

Main Library

10:45 a.m. – Story time at Thomas Edison Learning Center

All day – Walk-in crafts

Middle Point Branch

1:30 p.m. – Story time

Convoy Branch

6-7 p.m. – Open house

6:30 p.m. – Story time with guest readers Jane Poling and Tona King

Ohio City Branch

6-7 p.m. – Open house

Friday, April 13

Main Library

All day – Walk-in crafts

Saturday, April 14

Main Library

9 a.m.-3 p.m. – Spring Book Sale.

All day – Walk-in crafts in the Children’s Department

POSTED: 04/09/18 at 8:19 am. FILED UNDER: News