Muskingum County, Ohio - Chapter 19: Library, 1882

Chapter 19: Library

This is the crowning result of many an earnest effort. The inception may be traced back to a meeting, held December 19th, 1827, intended for the formation of a reading society, over which Alexander Harper presided, and Alfred Martin acted as Secretary. At this meeting, on motion of C. B. Goddard, a committee was appointed to draft articles of association. The President appointed Richard Stillwell, Allen Cadwallader, and C. B. Goddard, who reported as follows :

Articles Of Association

Art. 2. The society shall, meet at their reading room, on the evening of the third Monday in January, of each year, at six o'clock, p. m., for the transaction of business, and the election of officers.

Art. 3. The officers of the society shall be a President, Secretary, Treasurer, and five Directors, who shall hold office one year, and until their successors are elected. The President shall also be one of the Board of Dii-ectors.

Art. 5. The Directors shall determine what reviews, magazines, newspapers, and books shall be subscribed for and purchased, contract for a room, and report annually to the society.

Art. 6. The society reserves the power to instruct the Directors to subscribe for or purchase any particular work, and to direct the discontinuance of any.

Art. 8. The Treasurer shall collect the subscriptions during the first week in January of each year. He shall conduct the correspondence of the society, remit money, and keep an accurate account of the receipts and expenditures, an exhibit of which he shall make at their annual meetings.

Art. 9. Any person may become a member of this society by the payment of five dollars ($5.00) annually; and any member wishing to discontinue his subscription, must give notice in writing to the Secretary, at least thirty days before the expiration of the year, and an}- member remaining in default for thirty days, may be tlismissed by the Directors.

Art. 10. Any subscriber shall have tlie privilege of introducing an}' member of his family between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one years, upon paying the sum of two dollars ($2.00) for

An Act to Incorporate the Zanesville Atheneum - Section i . Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Alexander Harper, Charles B. Goddard, Richard Stillwell, A. Cadwallader, William A. Adams, Bernard Van Home, Alfred Martin, James V. Cushing, and their associates be, and they are hereby created and declared a body, corporate and politic, by the name of "The Zanesville Atheneum ;" and by that name, shall have pei'- petual succession ; be capable of suing and being sued ; pleading, and being impleaded ; may have a common seal, and may alter the same at pleasure.

Sec. 2. That the said corporation may purchase, receive, hold, and convey any estate, real, personal, or mixed ; provided that the clear income of such estate shall not exceed the sum of two thousand dollars ; and, provided also, that no part of the stock of said corporation, or property owned by it, shall at any time be used, or employed, for banking purposes, in any manner whatsoever, or for an}- other than literary purposes - the purchase of books, maps, charts, pamphlets and newspapers, the building necessary to contain the same, and the necessary expenses of the institution.

Sec. 3. That the members of the said corporation may, from time to time, elect such officers as may be deemed necessary, and make bylaws necessary for the institution ; and may annex to the same, reasonable pecuniary fines and penalties for the breach thereof. Provided, that said by-laws be not repugnant to the constitution and laws of the United States, nor of this State.

At a meeting of the society, held January i, 1828, the Secretary was instructed to order the Treasurer to purchase the following publications.

Edinburg Review, London Quarterly, North American, American Quarterly, Silliman's Journal, Littell's Museum, National Intelligencer, National Gazette, United States Telegraph, New York Engineer, Louisiana Weekly Advocate, Richmond Whig, Charleston Courier, Marjrlander, Littell's Religious Magazine; and, on the 4th of March following, the Southern Review, New York American, and Boston Bulletin, were added.

for that purpose, procured a lease of a portion of ground, since occupied by the Court House ; the lease was dated February 6, 1830, and is recorded on page 326, Book "N," Muskingum County Records. According to the terms of said lease, "the society shall have the use of the lot named, for the term of one thousand years, at an annual rent of one cent per annum, if demanded by the Commissioners.

March 10, 1830, the Atheneum Building Committee accepted the bid of John Wilson, for the erection of a suitable brick building, upon the property leased, as aforesaid. The building was erected at a cost of about $3,500, and was occupied by the society until the site was deemed desirable for Court House 'grounds, and which, after due consideration, the society transferred back to the County Commissioners for the consideration of $6,575, to the society paid by the said Commissioners, that the grounds might be occupied by "the old 1809 Court House ;" and the Atheneum Association purchased and moved into the premises now occupied by them, for the sum of $6,200.

The income of the Atheneum is one thousand dollars annually from the administrators of the Mclntire estate ; three hundred and thirty dollars ($330.) from rents, and five dollars per annum from each stockholder, at present about thirty, making one hundred and fifty dollars. Total revenue, fourteen hundred and eighty dollars.

Stockholders - C. H. Abbot, J. B. Allen, D. Applegate, A. Ball, J. P. Barton, J. Burgess, Z. M. Chandler. S. Clark, H. Elliott, C. H. Gattrell, T. M. Gattrell, J. Gilbert, C. C. Goddard, W. A. Graham, M. M. Granger, R. S. Granger, C. C. Hildreth, C. H. Jones, J. W. King, L. P. Marsh, E. Mathews, Mrs. A. Merrick, J. O'Neil, G. Printz, A. C. Ross, F. A. Seborn, H. Stanbery, J. R. Stonesipher, T. B. Townsend, and the Mclntire administrators.