The Brumback Library

Van Wert County · 215 W. Main Street, Van Wert, OH, 45891

Side A: When local banker and businessman John Sanford Brumback left a large bequest to Van Wert County for the purpose of establishing a countywide library in 1897, such institutions did not yet exist, and Ohio had no legal provision for a tax-supported county library system. In response, the Ohio Legislature passed an enabling law in April 1898, marking the beginning of the county library system in the United States. Designed by Toledo architect David L. Stine and built of Bedford limestone in an eclectic Romanesque style, the Brumback Library was dedicated in 1901. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, it continues to serve as a center of knowledge for all of Van Wert County. Side B: Same

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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Marker data: Ohio Historical Markers program, Ohio History Connection (Remarkable Ohio)

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