THE OHIOANA ROOM ~THE MARY L. COOK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Local History, Ohio History & Genealogy

The Mary L. Cook Public Library
381 Old Stage Road
Waynesville, Ohio 45068
1-513-897-4826
campbeka@oplin.org

Also read the article: The Mary L. Cook Public Library ~ 88 Years of Responsible Growth and Community Service

The Ohioana Room is dedicated to the preservation of Waynesville history and the immediate area including Wayne and Massie townships. Our local history files contain information on the prehistoric history of the area, about the pioneer settlement, about local historical homes, about the businesses, institutions and organizations of Waynesville, about the churches located in Waynesville and nearby, the history of the local schools both public and private, about the development of local historical institutions such as Pioneer Village, and about local towns and hamlets, for example: Harveysburg, Oregonia, Lytle, Mt. Holly, Springboro and Corwin. Genealogies of local families are continually added to our files. We have the most complete records of Miami Cemetery in Corwin.

VERTICAL FILES

We have five kinds of vertical files in the Ohioana Room:
o Local History Files
o Ohio History and Biography Files
o “How to do” Genealogy Files
o Local Cemeteries & Other Major Cemeteries in Ohio Files
o Local Surname Files

ARCHIVED MATERIALS

Over many years, the people of Waynesville and environs have given historical objects to the Ohioana Room. Our collection is small but significant. Contack the genealogy librarian for more information concerning archived objects.

MATERIALS PERTAINING TO THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

Due to the historical significance of Miami Monthly Meeting of The Society of Friends located in Waynesville to the history of Friends in southwest Ohio and southeast Indiana, the Ohioana Room collects reference works pertaining to the local history of Friends and references to the states of origin of the Quaker pioneers. We have the essential Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy by Hinshaw and many other references.

The Mary L. Cook Public Library has published an extensive pathfinder entitled, Friendly Research: An Introduction to Quaker Genealogical Research With Bibliographies of Primary, Secondary & Internet Resources which includes a timeline of the history of the Society of Friends, an account of the history of the Quakers in Ohio, and an explanation of Quaker record keeping practices and examples of how to research. Contact Karen Campbell for more information about this pathfinder.

ATLASES & MAPS

The Ohioana Room is collecting atlases of all the eighty-eight counties of Ohio. The atlases and other maps are located in the Atlas and Map Cabinet. We can also provide researchers with maps to the local cemeteries, maps of local Quaker meetinghouses and sites, and addresses and maps of how to get to local archives and local genealogical and historical societies in western Ohio. Hanging on the north wall is a color copy of “A Map of the Locations of the Meetings, Constituting Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends, 1851. Revised, 1853” by Quaker artist Marcus Mote. A large map of Warren County, Ohio, dated 1856, is hanging in the adjacent reading room.

COUNTY HISTORIES

The Ohioana Room collects both old and new county histories for all eighty-eight counties of Ohio. We focus specifically on collecting materials about Warren County and its surrounding counties: Montgomery, Hamilton, Clinton, Greene, Highland, Butler, Preble, Clermont and Brown counties.

PHOTOGRAPHS

The Ohioana Room has a large collection of old original photographs and postcards from different time periods. The collection includes photographs of individuals and families, of Main Street Waynesville and other streets of the village. The photographs detail the business history of the village and also the development of the local schools. There are photographs of Miami Cemetery and other local villages, hamlets, and sites. Most of our collection has been digitized on CD-ROMs in an effort to preserve the originals. We also invite patrons to bring in family photos, which we can duplicate digitally. The patron can keep the originals.

BOOK COLLECTIONS:

o Ohio history texts and references
o Ohio natural history texts and references
o Ohio art and cultural histories
o Ohio biographies
o Ohio artists, authors, and novels
o Ohio in the Civil War and other military conflicts
o Ohio County genealogical indexes and abstracts
o Published family histories
o “How to do” genealogy books
o Standard genealogy reference sets, for example: American State Papers, Federal Land Series, Genealogies of the Library of Congress, the finding aids for the collections housed at the National Archives and Records Administration, Filby’s Passenger & Immigration Lists Index, Cherokee By Blood, American Ancestry, Colonial Families of the United States, DAR Patriot Index, Genealogical Abstracts of the Revolutionary War, Ohio in the War by Reed, Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866 and Howe’s Historical Collections of Ohio.
o Genealogy references for other states: New England, Middle Atlantic, and Southern.
o Our collection of Kentucky and Indiana books is small but growing.

GENEALOGICAL DATA CD-ROMS

The Ohioana Room has a large collection of genealogical data CD-ROMs. Consult the library catalog online or our hard copy catalogue of Genealogical data CD-ROMs located in the office of the Genealogy Librarian. The CD-ROMs can be viewed on the public computer in the Ohioana Room.

MICROFILM

The Ohioana Room has a collection of microfilm that includes the Miami-Visitor and Miami-Gazette newspapers of Waynesville as well as part of the Western Star of Lebanon, Ohio. Ask the genealogy librarian for more information.

IN GENERAL

The Ohioana Room has the same hours as the library. Our book collections are catalogued in the general electronic card catalogue of the library. The public computer in the Ohioana Room has access to that catalogue. Family Tree Maker software is available on that computer, too. The books in the stacks are labeled by state, county and type. The vertical files are labeled. The books are in Dewey Decimal order.

THE MARY K. CURRENT OHIOANA ROOM

The Ohioana Room is named in honor of Mary K. Current who was the third head librarian of The Mary L. Cook Public Library. In 1954 the Wayne Township Library was moved from its location on Main Street to the first floor of the old 1898 Union Schoolhouse on Fourth Street, which was owned by the American Legion Post #615. The following year, in 1955 Mary K. Current was named librarian. The Ohioana Room began as a storage closet in the old schoolhouse and it has continued to grow throughout the years and through many transformations of the library into the research resource it is today. The Ohioana Room will continue to expand its collections and provide genealogical and historical services to those of the local community and researchers who visit us from outside the area and other states.

THE OHIOANA FUND

Through your attendance at Ohioana Room events and through the purchase of materials published by the library and the genealogy librarian, you can:
o support the continuing development of the Ohioana Room reference book collections
o support the Ohioana Room’s services to the community which include conferences, workshops, and presentations
o support the publication of indexes and abstracts of genealogical materials that pertain to Waynesville and the immediate area
o support the further development of pathfinders and educational materials which can be used to encourage local historians, genealogists, and patrons to engage in serious research into the interesting history of Waynesville and Wayne and Massie Townships
o and support the production of future digital presentations on local notables, significant families and important events as well as educational videos on a variety of topics which can be used with both children and adult groups.

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

The Friends of The Mary L. Cook Public Library is a group of friendly community volunteers, whose purpose is to support and promote the library in all its varied services. They sponsor programs, do fund raising, buy new items and do many things to help the library. The group meets quarterly to plan its activities. Annual membership is $2.00 for an individual, $5.00 for a family, $25.00 for a business/organization and $100.00 for a lifetime membership.