Sunday, May 31, 2026

Question: Van Wert County will be home to a new $10 billion data center campus. What is Van Wert County’s traditional claim to fame in Ohio history?

Answer: Brumback Library, widely recognized as the first county library in the United States, dedicated in 1901. Van Wert banker and businessman John Sanford Brumback left a bequest to establish a countywide library, but when he made the gift in 1897, such institutions did not yet exist, and Ohio had no legal provision for a tax-supported county library system. In response, the Ohio Legislature passed an enabling law in April 1898, marking the beginning of the county library system in the United States.