The Warder Public Library building sits on the corner of Hugh Street and Spring Avenue. Upon it's completion in 1890, Benjamin Head Warder donated the Warder Public Library to the people of Springfield in honor of his parents, Jeremiah and Ann A. The structure now serves as the home to the Clark County Literacy Coalition. The CCLC provides tutoring for adults and children in literacy, ESOL, and G
ED courses. With the majority of donation funds benefiting the CCLC's tutoring services to the community, there is little left to provide for the burden of upkeep required of a historical structure, like the Warder Building. The Warder building has served the Springfield and Clark County community in many ways for over a century. We hope that the people of Springfield and Clark County will be willing to give a little something back to make sure the Warder Building remains an integral part of Springfield for many years to come. More about The Warder Public Library:
Warder Public Library is a historically significant building in Springfield, Ohio, United States. A robust example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, it was a gift to the city from industrialist Benjamin H. Warder, and served as the main branch of the Clark County Public Library from 1890 to 1989. Warder (1824–1894) was president of Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company (established 1879), headquartered in Springfield, manufacturers of Champion harvesters and farm machinery. In 1902, Warder's company merged with four others — McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Deering Harvester Company, Milwaukee Harvester Company, Plano Manufacturing Company — to form International Harvester. Bushnell and John J. Glessner, each hired Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson to design a house: the Warder Mansion in Washington, DC. (1885–88); the Bushnell Mansion in Springfield, Ohio (1885–88); and the John J. Glessner House in Chicago, Illinois (1885–87). Richardson died in 1886, but architects in his office completed the houses and formed a successor firm: Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Warder hired them to design the library. The L-shaped building is located at the southwest corner of High Street and Spring Avenue. It is constructed of Ohio buff sandstone trimmed with Worcester brownstone, under a red slate roof. The east wing features an arcaded entrance porch; at the juncture of the wings is a tower that contains the staircase. The main reading room features a massive stone fireplace, 18 feet tall and 12 1/2 feet wide. In plan and massing, the building is closely related to Richardson's Converse Memorial Library (1885) in Malden, Massachusetts. Warder donated the building as a memorial to his parents. A plaque reads:
This library has been erected in memory of Jeremiah and Ann A. Warder by their son Benjamin Head Warder. It is given to the people of Springfield for their free enjoyment and is left in their charge forever. Dedicated June 12th, 1890. In 1989, the Clark County Public Library moved to a modern facility at 201 South Fountain Avenue. The Warder Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
