Every morning I drive in front of Main Library on my way to work, and admire the beauty of the building.  There’s a certain pride that one can have, realizing that you work in such a magnificent building, steeped in so much history; history not only of the institution itself, but in the city’s history as well.  But I’m equally fascinated by what came before us.  Have you ever wondered what stood on the site of the Main Library, before it was built one hundred years ago?  …Well, the site itself is steeped in local history, long before its association with the Library.

    In 1824, a young, prominent attorney moved to Columbus from Zanesville, Ohio.  Noah Haynes Swayne had moved to Zanesville in 1823 upon finishing his law studies, from his home state of Virginia, because of his Quaker inspired anti-slavery views.  Rising quickly in his profession, in 1830, Swayne was appointed as the U.S. District Attorney of Ohio by President Jackson.  In 1848, Swayne built a substantial home on the present site of Main Library.  At that time, 96 S. Grant Avenue was far from the center of town, and the local citzenry wondered why Swayne would build so far out of the city proper, on a lot that was “swampy” and unbefitting of such a substantial house.  It was referred to as “Swayne’s Folly”.    Under President Lincoln, he was appointed as a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court, and moved from Columbus to Washington, D.C.  After a thirty year residency in Columbus, we gave up one of our finer citizens to national service.

    Before moving to Washington, Swayne sold his house to Thomas Ewing Miller, a prominent local dry goods merchant, and a former U.S. minister to France under President Pierce.  Miller in turn leased the house to the State of Ohio, to be used as the Governor’s mansion.  The house was home to three of Ohio governor’s from the 1860s to the 1890s, including Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, who later went on to become President. 

    Incidently, Rutherford B. Hayes’ sister, Fanny (Hayes) Platt lived on the corner of Broad Street and Cleveland Avenue.  She was the wife of prominent businessman William B. Platt, who owned the local gas company.  The beautiful Platt mansion on East Broad Street met the wrecking ball in 1929; one the the early casualties of urban sprawl.  (The library recently received a photographic house history of the Platt Mansion and a transcription of Fanny (Hayes) Platts memoirs from the period, from descendants of the family, Nan and Bill Platt.)  Fascinating reading on local Columbus social life during that period.

    Anyway, back to the story,  …In 1902, Thomas Ewing Miller sold the Noah Swayne house to the city of Columbus for $40,000.00 (adjusted for inflation, that would be about $996,000.00 in today’s money.)  The city had grown significantly between the time the house was built in 1848 and the time the city purchased the property, and this location was considered a prime location for the new public library, which was the big civic project of the day.  The house was razed in 1903 to begin construction of the library.

    With the razing of the Noah Swayne house ended a chapter of local, state and national history, but as “all history is local”, a new chapter of local history was introduced with the construction of Main Library between 1903-1907; …a much cherished institution and edifice in its own right.  In 2007, the Main Library was included on the National Register of Historic Places, and there is a plaque in the Library courtyard, which breifly details its historic significance.

    If you would like to know more about Noah Swayne; The history of Ohio Governors residences; Rutherford B. Hayes’ family connections to Columbus, or the history of the Library,… stop by Main Library and drop by the Genealogy, History and Travel Division.  We have a lot of interesting information on all these topics, and much more.

Until next time,

Andy

Thought of the day:  I’m always fascinated by Columbus landmarks which are long gone, as Columbus never was shy about ripping down a building; sometimes for a good purpose, such as in this case,…but more often than not, to make room for yet another parking lot.  The recent razing of the Firestone Mansion on East Broad Street comes to mind.

Just as I got this blog up and running,… I took some vacation time, so “All History is Local” sat dormant for a bit.  Now I’m back,… and I’m ready to go.  Sorry, for all five of you who waited with bated breath, for the next installment.   GRIN

Confession:  I am about to break my cardinal pledge of not weighting this blog with genealogy, but as “all history is local”, please bear with me.  This is different.  We’re in election season, and I just had a hunch that I’d be able, looking hard enough, to make some local history ties to the candidates who are now vying for the White House. 

Okay,…this blog is not political,…. except that while I’ve been watching these two national political party conventions,… I keep wondering,… “well I wonder if any of these candidates have a historical connection to Columbus or Ohio”.  Well!!  In my vacation week,… I found that the Democratic candidate, Barak Obama, has ancestral ties to Delaware County, Ohio, just north of Columbus.  I’ll post more specifics on that in the next day or so, after I run down some additional facts.

I think I also have Sarah (Heath) Palin’s ancestors pinned back to north central Ohio in the 1800s.  Again,…I’ll post more when I know more.  …As for McCain and Biden,….haven’t looked yet.  But I’m on the case.  HA!

Why is all this of interest to this blog,…. well “All history is local”,….and Ohio has been the mother of several presidents, and a few would-be contenders.  So,….presidential history is hand-in-hand with Ohio local history.  In fact, our current president, George W. Bush traces his ancestry back to Columbus, Ohio.  Below is an etching of one of his ancestral homes, which was situated on the corner of Washington and Town Streets, very near CML Main Library.

This house was built by Howard Cornelius Bancroft, who came to Columbus from New England, in 1853.  He clerked at a dry goods firm owned by the Fernando Kelton family, http://www.keltonhouse.com/ who lived just up the street.  Bancroft eventually became a partner with Kelton in the business.  For a number of years, Bancroft was the President of the Columbus Club.  In later years Bancroft was in partnership with his son-in-law Robert Sheldon, who would become President Bush’s great, great-grandfather.

            Currently, the above street address has a high rise apartment building, which was constructed in the late 1940s.  Progress?  Of course, there are other Bush related ancestral houses strewn throughout Columbus, but this one just fascinated me because it’s no longer here.

 

Thought for the day: I am reminded of the quote by John Morris in, Londinium: London in the Roman Empire, p. 205.  “At most, …living memory endures for a hundred years or so.  Thereafter, even the barest outline of the past is forgotten, unless it is recorded in writing.”

Greetings esteemed readers …                                                

(of which I hope there will be many,.. okay, at least a few),

  Welcome to “All History Is Local”:  a place where I will (humbly) attempt to amuse, educate, and hopefully foster an interest in your own local history.  My name is Andy, and I’m a local history librarian at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.  I am a self-professed history and genealogy geek, so my vocation is my avocation and visa versa.  I have been pretty much a life-long resident of Ohio, and since childhood I have been learning about and researching Ohio (local) history as well as family history.  I invite the reader to introduce him/herself to me and our nascent community, and to post comments on items of interest. 

  My plan with this blog is to bring to you items of local historical interest, specifically related to Columbus, Ohio, and more generally, the state of Ohio.  Also, as a seasoned genealogist of 20 years, there may be an occasional post with a genealogical bent.  I’ll try to avoid weighting the blog too heavily in the genealogy direction,…but as “all history is local” this will, sometimes be the nature of the beast.

  Having had a personal blog before, this will be my first foray into a themed blog.  Up to this point, blogging was always just a random conglomeration of thoughts du jour, so this will be a new experience in some ways.  I’m excited to bring local history out of the library stacks and into the blogosphere, and I whole-heartedly invite discussion from (you) the reader.

  So,…come back and visit often.  In fact, bookmark this page now, …as you’ll never know what or who I may talk about next.  Because remember,  “All History Is Local”.

Ciao fer now,

Andy