The Making Of A Library

How the Medina Library came to be....

                                                      

Who would have known that a thoughtful bequeathment given to the Medina Library Association in 1898 would be the beginning of the Medina Library as we know it today?

 In September of 1898, Otis Thompson, a resident of Medina, wrote in his will that he wished for $250 dollars to be given to the Medina Village Council to be used by the Medina Library Association to invest in some “good books”. 

Medina Probate Court, AncestryLibraryEdition

Medina County Gazette, 20 Apr 1899

Little did Mr. Thompson know  the Library Association was not incorporated so it could not receive his generous gift…at least not right away. The quick acting association was incorporated within 7 months and could then receive such gifts.  

The community continued to donate to the association, and by 1904, they were able to obtain a building on the square to house the library. They were then able to fill it with new books and furnishings. The building is located today at 101 East Liberty.         

 Then came the most splendid gift of all….

Franklin Sylvester, a local, wealthy cattle rancher donated $10,000 (equivalent to around $308,000 today) for a new public library to be built on the square.                             

Medina Gazette, 6 Jan 1905

A Resolution was written up by the association…and the planning of the building began...

Medina Gazette, 24 Feb 1905

The southeast corner of Public Square was where they decided to build.

 

But first they needed to move a house....

Mr. Fremont O. Phillips moved his entire house from South Broadway to North Broadway. It was moved in two parts and completed in five days. The address today is 506 North Broadway and the house is as beautiful as it was in 1905. 

Medina Gazette, 15 June 1906

The Library Trustees then hired Lee Fretz to be the contractor and Frank Gruninger as the architect.

According to an article from the Medina Gazette, 15 June 1906, the trustees were not sure how to place the building. The majority wanted it to face the corner of the lot so it would be facing both Broadway and Washington. Yet, I think the contractor and architect had a different opinion because the finished building faced Broadway. 

Plans were drawn up and submitted to the trustees.

And by the end of June of 1906…the building began….

 

Medina Gazette, 29 June 1906

                                                                               

How happy Mr. Sylvester must have been to see the progress made on the building that he made possible with his generous donation. Sadly, he would not see it completed. On May 24, 1907 the Medina Gazette wrote he was seriously ill and on May 31st he passed away. 

      

                                                            

However, even in death, Mr. Sylvester continued to support the library. He left the library an additional $4,000 in his will. 

Three months later, the Library's Board of Trustees met for the last time in the old library building on East Liberty. 

On September 29, 1907…a rainy and cold day…the library was dedicated to the people of Medina.

Medina Gazette

Medina Gazette, 4 Oct 1907

The town of Medina grew and changed through the years. However, in 1938, the library still looked pretty much the same. The front was covered with ivy but the interior still looked like the description in the above 1907 article.

                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                  Medina continued to grow and in 1976 an addition was put on the original building. 

                                                                                                                                                                     In 2008, another addition was added to the building, along with a complete renovation inside. 

Due to a another generous donation, this time from Virginia Wheeler Martin, a former Medina resident, the library was able to open the Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History & Learning Center in 2019. 

Thank you Mr. Franklin Sylvester for having the foresight to see what an important part of this community our library would become. We hope you would approve of the many ways it has grown and how it benefits not only our city, but our county as well.  

 

To learn more about Franklin Sylvester click on this link: http://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/10/franklin-sylvester.html

Sources:

"Ohio, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998," digital images, AncestryLibraryEdition (accessed through participating library: accessed 13 September 2021); citing Otis Thompson, Wills, Probate Court, vol. K, 1897-1899, p. 365-55, Medina, Ohio.

"Ohio, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998," digital images, AncestryLibraryEdition (accessed through participating library: accessed 13 September 2021); citing Franklin Sylvester, Wills, Probate Court, Vol. P, 1906-1908, p. 365, Medina, Ohio. 

Medina Library Board of Trustees, Minutes, 13 September 1907, Medina Library, Ohio.

Joann King, "The History of Medina's Kings-Phillips-Deibel House," Medina County Gazette, 6 June 2006; Historical Homes of Medina, v. 2, H-L, Medina Library, Ohio. 

Medina County Gazette, 20 April 1898, p. 4

Medina County Gazette, 21 October 1904, p. 1

Medina County Gazette, 6 January 1905 p. 1

Medina  County Gazette, 24 February 1905, p. 1

Medina County Gazette, 15 June 1906, p. 1

Medina County Gazette, 29 June 1906, p 5

Medina County Gazette, 7 June 1907, p. 5