Many people in our community are familiar with the Ohio County Public Library’s Wheeling Room which houses a large local history collection and many genealogical resources. Fewer people, however, are aware of the Ohio County Public Library’s substantial archival collection.
In addition to books and other published items of regional and genealogical significance, the library has been collecting and housing non-published materials such as photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, personal and corporate archives, journals, letters, maps, prints, pamphlets, brochures, advertising ephemera and the like that are related to the history of Wheeling and the Upper Ohio Valley region since the 1920s.
EARLY LIBRARY HISTORY
Opened as the “Wheeling Public Library” on October 12, 1882 over R.J. Smyth’s grocery at the corner of 14th and Market Streets (later the Hub Department store), the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling is West Virginia’s oldest tax-supported library.
Sitting on the heels of bad memories of the 1892 Homestead Steel Mill Strike, Wheeling voters in 1904 rejected a grant from Andrew Carnegie to build a new library. The Board of Education instead assumed the expense of building a new facility. Designed by Wheeling architect Charles W. Bates, the new library opened on January 9, 1911 at 2100 Market Street — without any financial assistance from Carnegie. By the early 1920’s the library was recognized as one of the largest collections in the state.
BEGINNINGS OF A COLLECTION
The library special collections began when Sallie Maxwell Bennett, mother of WWI flying ace Louis Bennett, presented a collection of artifacts from her world travels to the library in 1920. “With the exception of the museum of Natural History in New York City and those other large cities of the United States,” The Wheeling Intelligencer raved, “it is doubtful if there is another such collection of world relics as has been presented to the city of Wheeling by Mrs. Bennett.” The collection, which included Louis Bennett’s “war trophies” became known as the “Bennett Museum,” and was housed on the second floor of the library on Market Street. Artifacts included an 1861 copy of the Declaration of the People of Virginia, wooden pegs from the “old Second Ward Market House,” various fossils and mineral specimens, butterfly specimens, coins, “Indian relics,” and a section of the first water pipe used in Wheeling (apparently made from a log).
Another prominent Wheeling resident, bank president B. Walker Peterson, donated a statue of Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen to the library in 1920. The statue is almost always fondly remembered by anyone who frequented the Market Street library in the years that followed. After some controversy, the statue was sold at auction when the library moved to its current location in the early 1970s. The contents of the Bennett Museum were eventually either returned to the Bennett family or ended up in the collections of various organizations, including the New York City Art Gallery and Oglebay Institute, among others.
Though many people to this day still lament the loss of earlier collections, the story of the museum artifacts and the statue help to illustrate the need for a clear archival collection development policy for any organization taking in donations from the community. The library is currently in the process of developing such a policy. This policy will clearly define what the library collects to provide guidance for staff and potential donors.
EVOLUTION OF THE CURRENT LIBRARY ARCHIVES
In 1950, W.C. Brown, one of the Wheeling’s early photographers, donated to the library a collection of prints from photographs he and his father had taken. According to an article in the Wheeling News-Register, famed Wheeling photographer George Kossuth had recently restored the prints.
The Brown Collection of Photographs was the first major building block in what has evolved into the library’s Archives and Special Collections. Providing a fascinating glimpse into 19th and early 20th century Wheeling, the Brown Collection is one of the most important held by the Ohio County Public Library. The original prints are available for viewing by appointment only, but they have been scanned to preserve as much of the artistic quality and style of the original as possible and converted to electronic format for display. Each of the 94 images can be viewed on the library’s web site. High-resolution copies are available upon request.
The library has acquired additional collections of photographs and other materials over the years that continue to provide that fascinating glimpse into Wheeling’s past. Former assistant director Lou Horacek, over a decade’s time, did yeoman’s work in organizing, cataloging, preserving, and protecting what now comprises the library’s Archives and Special Collections. Thanks to Lou’s efforts, a large percentage of the collection is accessible online via the library’s Flickr page, and the library archives staff is currently working to increase and improve that accessibility for researchers.
ARCHIVES EXPANSION AT THE LIBRARY
In light of an ever-expanding collection, in late 2013, the library added a secure new room to safely and properly house its growing collection. Staff members are currently preparing and organizing the new archives, but look for the announcement of a grand opening for public viewing in 2015.
In the meantime, our staff members are working hard to digitize our collections and share them for online viewing, so watch for future posts and please stay tuned!
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Thanks Sean learning a lot about Wheeling’s interesting past. I will check with you later on more Wheeling history questions.