Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Steubenville, Ohio - Carnegie Library Buildings on Waymarking.com

As is often the case, Steubenville had several transient subscription libraries before establishing a permanent and enduring library. In the 1830s, one early library was housed in the home of Edwin M. Stanton, who later served as President Lincoln’s Secretary of War during the Civil War. Nearly seventy years later, the town approached Andrew Carnegie in the hopes of securing a grant to build a library. As a young man, Carnegie had spent some time working as a telegraph operator in Steubenville and professed a certain fondness for the town. (Even today, librarians and historians in Steubenville are proud to mention their city’s place in Carnegie’s heart.) He granted $50,000 to the city for the building, and even paid the excess when the cost exceeded the estimate by $12,000. The building was designed by Alden and Harlow, the same Pittsburgh architects who designed the Carnegie Institute. The city purchased a lot at South Fourth and Slack streets for the library, which was opened on 11 March 1902.

Like the East Liverpool library not far north, the Steubenville library was the recipient of a relatively large grant, and a relatively large building was constructed. Also, since the buildings in both towns were rather large to begin with, most of the changes have been interior, not exterior additions and add-on wings. The Steubenville library has a large clock tower, but no clock was ever installed. Part of the tower was removed in the 1950s as it was falling into disrepair. A balcony was added in 1952, increasing shelf space. The building has three fireplaces: one in each of the two reading rooms, and one in the basement. A large basement auditorium was converted for use as the children’s department, which seems to hold fond memories for people who grew up in Steubenville. (Several people in town mentioned the children’s room to me when i expressed my interest in seeing the Carnegie Library.) The children’s room is decorated with many papier mâche statues of beloved children’s book characters, including Snow White and all seven dwarves. The adult reading rooms are decorated with paintings by local artists. The Steubenville library is the hub of the Jefferson County library system, which incorporates several branch libraries across the county.

Address of Library Building: 407 South 4th Street Steubenville, Ohio USA 43952 Current Use of Building: library Year Built (optional): 1902 Website about building: [Web Link]

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