This book chronicles the evolution of library service in Worthington, Ohio from the 1803 Stanbery Library on the Ohio frontier to Worthington's Bicentennial year.

Library service in Worthington, Ohio actually has its roots in Granby, Connecticut as the books for the first Worthington library were brought by the Scioto Company, the city's first settlers, from Granby in 1803.

James Kilbourne (b. 1770), leader of the Scioto Company, was most likely the prime instigator behind establishing a library in Worthington. A successful storeowner in Connecticut, Kilbourne was very involved in his community, serving as town assessor and actively participating in the Masonic Lodge, Episcopal Church and Granby subscription library.

In 1800, Kilbourne became interested in moving west and traveled to the Genesee River Valley region of New York State to explore settlement possibilities. When he discovered this land to be either already inhabited or too expensive, he began to investigate settlement sites along the Ohio River.

On May 5, 1802, Kilbourne met with a small group of men at the home of Rev. Eber B. Clark to discuss possible plans for resettling should make an exploratory journey to Ohio to scout out possible settlement sites. They left on July 30 and returned in late September, having made the arduous 2,000-mile journey in only eight weeks.

On October 5, Kilbourne and Little presented their findings to the group gathered at Rev. Clark's home. This group of men formed the Scioto Company and, based on Kilbourne's presentation, agreed to purchase a tract of land north of Franklinton, Ohio on the banks of the Whetstone River. Their purchase was finalized in December, and Scioto Company members and their families spent the next several months preparing for their journey.

The company met for the last time in the east on August 10 and 11 and agreed to call their new town Worthington, after Thomas Worthington, the father of Ohio Statehood (Kilbourne and Little met him on their exploratory journey). They also discussed their subscription library.

It was agreed that "two Dollars be Appropriated out of the fund to Each Subscriber for a Library." This is a significant amount given the average monthly wage of a Scioto Company worker was $12 per month. James Kilbourne and Levi Buttles were appointed as a committee to purchase books, and on September 2, the treasurer turned over $59.86 to the library committee. There is every reason to believe the first library in Worthington was well-stocked given this amount of money and the fact that books sold for between 20 and 30 cents at the time.

Although the families of the Scioto Company began their journeys west at different times throughout the fall, all had arrived safely by December 1, 1803 (including Lucy Fitch Kilbourne, wife of James, who gave birth to a daughter along the way!).

 

Lisa Fuller has served as Community Relations/Development Director for Worthington Libraries since 1999. She researched the library’s history for more than a year before writing this book. Aside from the first chapter, the information and facts contained here were taken directly from the library’s archive of annual reports, press clippings and meeting minutes of the Board of Trustees.

 

The 200-Year History of Worthington Libraries by Lisa D. Fuller
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