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Main Library

Image of the brumback library

 

Address:

215 W. Main St.
Van Wert, Ohio 45891
Phone: (419) 238-2168
Email: brumback@brumbacklib.org

 

Hours:

Monday – Thursday 9:30am – 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am – 5:00pm
Saturday 9:30am – 3:30pm

History of the Brumback Library

The Brumback Library under construction.John Sanford Brumback, for whom the Brumback Library is named, was born in 1829 in Licking County, Ohio. When he was four years old his father died, leaving his mother with six young children and a log house on forty acres of undeveloped land. John attended school during the winters, when he was not needed on the farm. He learned as a child to depend upon himself, which helped develop his work ethic.

Who was John Sanford Brumback?

Picture of John Sanford Brumback

From The County Library:

"JOHN SANFORD BRUMBACK was born on a farm in Licking County, Ohio, on the 4th day of March, 1829. His father descended from an old Virginia family of German extraction, the progenitor of which had come to America in early Colonial times. His mother, Frutilda Bearnes, came from Pennsylvania, whence her parents emigrated to Ohio at an early day. From her he inherited many of his sterling qualities of mind and heart."

The Contract

 

From The County Library Ch. IV:

- Excerpt from The Van Wert Republican, July 28, 1898

Picture of a Contract"For several months those who have the welfare of Van Wert County at heart have been inquiring what was being done toward accepting the late J. S. Brumback’s magnificent gift to the county of a fine library building. 

Van Wert County Historical Society

Interior and Exterior picture of the Van Wert County Historical Society

The museum is housed in a three-story stone mansion, fully restored and refurbished with period furniture and accessories as well as a large collection of area historical memorabilia. A restored railroad caboose, historical gazebo, and a one-room schoolhouse are also on display, along with a large collection of agricultural equipment in the red barn located on their property.