Birchard Public Library Under Construction Photograph

This 7.5" x 9.25" (19.05 x 23.5 cm) photograph shows the Birchard Public Library under construction. The library, which opened in 1879, is built on the site of the Battle of Fort Stephenson in present-day Fremont. Sardis Birchard, uncle of President Rutherford B. Hayes, set aside $50,000 in real estate and cash to construct the public library. A library association was established on July 4, 1873. It appointed trustees including Rutherford B. Hayes; General Ralph B. Buckland, physician and president of the Louisville & Lake Erie Railroad; and Congressman Colonel William E. Haynes, superintendent of the Fremont schools. Sardis Birchard died on January 21, 1874, before the library could be built. His nephew Rutherford B. Hayes saw that his uncle's plans were carried out and purchased the site of the old Fort Stephenson for the library. Construction could not begin immediately due to the Panic of 1873. Temporary quarters for the library were found on the second floor of Birchard Hall. Hayes was chairman of the book committee and he selected the first books to go into the collection. When the library opened on June 3, 1874, 1,683 volumes out of 5,000 on order had been cataloged and were ready for circulation. Hayes continued his position as library board president after he became president of the United States. The library opened in its permanent location in 1879.