Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1912-1914
Paulding County Carnegie Library, the first Carnegie library to serve a whole county
Built in 1912-1914 at 205 S. Main St., the Paulding County Carnegie Library is described as the first Carnegie library to serve an entire county instead of a single city. Carnegie's office first declined because Paulding was small, then agreed once the library association said it would serve the whole county.
At a glance
- Year
- 1912-1914
- Company
- Paulding County Carnegie Library
- Place
- Paulding, Paulding County ZIP 45879 · Paulding · Paulding County
Why it matters
It gave every part of a rural county access to a public library under the Carnegie program.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Wikipedia and the Van Wert Independent describe the Paulding County Carnegie Library as the first Carnegie library to serve a whole county.
The other claims. It is a local claim; the National Register listing records the 1912 construction but makes no 'first' claim, and no rival county is named.
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.