This 100-Year-Old Ohio Library Looks Like a Castle

People drive past thinking it's a castle. What they don't see is how much work it takes to keep a hundred-year-old small town library alive. Hello my friends, I'm Cathy. This is the Wagnalls Memorial, a public library in Lythopolis, a tiny Ohio town southeast of Columbus. And if the outside looks impressive, just wait until we step inside. But keeping all of this beauty alive hasn't been easy. Wagnalls almost didn't make it to its 100th birthday. Just a few years ago, the building itself was becoming a serious problem. By 2019, Wagnalls needed around 400,000 in repairs. The wood was deteriorating. Historic windows required a lot of attention. There was even a leak over the circulation desk. And that was not the only challenge. In 2016, a new library opened nearby in Canal Winchester. Ten years later, a much larger, modern branch entered the picture as well, raising concerns that some patrons might be drawn away. Welcome to your new Canal Winchester branch. Historic and modern, these two very different libraries just a few miles apart. If you lived here, which one would you go to? For Wagnalls, that question matters more than you might think. Wagnalls Library is in a consortium with Columbus Public Libraries, so books and materials can be shared across libraries. However, financially, it's a different story. Unlike many public libraries, Wagnalls receives no local property tax funding. It could only rely on Ohio's public library fund, grants, and donations to keep going. And for a small town library in a century-old building, reaching that 100th birthday wasn't easy. Luckily, the community stepped up. One private donor gave stock worth just over $100,000, specifically to help restore the original stained and leaded glass windows. Another $50,000 came from the state for window repairs. With support from the community, grants, and public funding, Wagnalls Library was able to keep going and reached a major milestone. In 2025, it celebrated its 100th birthday. The work is still ongoing, but this little castle library is still here. So how did a library like this end up here in the first place? The story begins with a name you might recognize, Funk and Wagnalls. For generations, Funk and Wagnalls was famous for its dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference books. One of its founders was Adam Wagnalls, who grew up here in Lythopolis. In 1925, his daughter, Mabel Wagnalls, gave this building to the community as a memorial to her parents, Adam and Anna. This is a gorgeous room, the original main reading room, built in 1925. And once we start looking around, I just realized how much detail is hidden in architecture. One of the first things I noticed was the owl. You might assume they're simply the traditional symbol of wisdom, but there's actually another story behind them. While trees were being cleared to build the library, workers found four baby owls in one of the trees they had cut down. They went to Mabel and asked what they should do, and Mabel said, don't worry, we will remember them. And they did. Look around the building today, and you will still find owls hidden in the architecture. And these owls aren't the only symbols here. Much of the building was designed to tell the Wagnalls family story. We can find these four shields representing the values her family held, education, hard work, faith, and patriotism. The library reading room is not the only place that's still being used. Mabel was a concert pianist, and her family loved the performing arts. She added an entire theater. Everything is original. And a century later, the wooden beams are still here. The space is still used for community productions. Every fall, they will bring in a director and put on production with local performance. Spaces like this, the historic theater and social hall, can also be rented for performances, weddings, meetings, and other private events. That's how the rental income helps maintain this historic memorial. And the experience doesn't end inside. Behind the library is a peaceful garden with winding paths, flowers, and some beautiful and unique stonework. It's another little corner of Wagnalls that's easy to miss. I hope you enjoyed exploring this beautiful library with me. Let me know what you think in the comments, and I'll see you next time. Bye!