![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/image-1.jpg\" "\\"Early")
<\/a>Opened as the \u201cWheeling Public Library\u201d on October 12, 1882 over R.J. Smyth\u2019s grocery at the corner of 14th and Market Streets (later the Hub Department store), the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling is West Virginia\u2019s oldest tax-supported library.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0assumed 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 \u2014\u00a0without any financial assistance from Carnegie. By\u00a0the early 1920\u2019s the library was recognized as one of the largest collections in the state.<\/p>\n
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BEGINNINGS OF A COLLECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n The library special collections began\u00a0when Sallie Maxwell Bennett, mother of WWI flying ace Louis Bennett, presented a collection of artifacts from her world travels to the library in 1920. \u201cWith the exception of the museum of Natural History in New York City and those other large cities of the United States,\u201d The Wheeling Intelligencer<\/em> raved, \u201cit is doubtful if there is another such collection of world relics as has been presented to the city of Wheeling by Mrs. Bennett.\u201d The collection, which included Louis Bennett\u2019s \u201cwar trophies\u201d became known as the \u201cBennett Museum,\u201d 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 \u201cold Second Ward Market House,\u201d various fossils and mineral specimens, butterfly specimens, coins, \u201cIndian relics,\u201d and a section of the first water pipe used in Wheeling (apparently made from a log).<\/p>\n Another prominent Wheeling resident,\u00a0bank president\u00a0B. Walker Peterson, donated a statue of Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen to the library in 1920. The statue is almost always\u00a0fondly 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.<\/p>\n Though many people to this day still lament the loss of earlier collections, the\u00a0story 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\u00a0policy will clearly define what the library collects to provide guidance for staff and potential donors.<\/p>\n EVOLUTION OF THE CURRENT LIBRARY ARCHIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n In 1950, W.C. Brown, one of the Wheeling\u2019s 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<\/em>, famed Wheeling photographer George Kossuth had recently restored the prints.<\/p>\n The Brown Collection of Photographs was the first major building block in what has evolved into the library\u2019s 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\u2019s web site<\/a>. High-resolution copies are available upon request.<\/p>\n The library has acquired additional collections of photographs and other materials over the years that continue to provide that fascinating glimpse into Wheeling\u2019s past. Former assistant director Lou Horacek, over a decade\u2019s time, did yeoman\u2019s work in organizing, cataloging, preserving, and protecting what now comprises the library\u2019s Archives and Special Collections. Thanks to Lou\u2019s efforts, a large percentage of the collection is accessible online via the library\u2019s Flickr page<\/a>, and the library archives staff is currently working to increase and improve that accessibility for researchers.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
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