{"nrhp_refnum":"04000610","name":"Carnegie Library (Old Wilberforce University Campus)","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1400 Brush Row Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wilberforce","county":"Greene County","state":"OH","lat":39.71759815300004,"lon":-83.88189322099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-06-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Black"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick and stone Classical Revival library building with a basement, built in 1907 on the Old Wilberforce University campus at 1400 Brush Row Road, Wilberforce, Greene County, Ohio. It was extended with side bays in 1936.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criterion A for Education and Ethnic Heritage (Black). It is one of only three historic buildings still standing on the Wilberforce and Central State campuses, Ohio's only HBCUs, and one of about nine Carnegie libraries built on HBCU campuses after 1900. It is also tied to Hallie Q. Brown's fundraising for the university's first library.","narrative":"Built in 1907 with a gift from Andrew Carnegie, this brick and stone library served Wilberforce University until the early 1980s. It is a one-story Classical Revival building with a basement, a pedimented entrance frontispiece, limestone-trimmed windows and brick chimneys. A 1936 addition added rectangular bays on each side for more stacks and reading space. Fundraising by educator and activist Hallie Q. Brown helped the university build its first library. By the 1930s the collection exceeded 10,500 volumes, including the papers of Daniel Payne and William S. Scarborough. The building survived the 1947 split that created Central State University and the 1974 tornado. It is one of only three historic buildings left on the Wilberforce and Central State campuses, Ohio's only historically Black colleges, and one of about nine Carnegie libraries built on such campuses after 1900. It now holds the administrative offices, archives and research library of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center.","period_of_significance":"1907-1953","architect_builder":"David Riebel (some evidence, not confirmed)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Currently serves as the library and administrative offices of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center; the cornice and pediment were altered in 1986 and 2003.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.701354-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/04000610.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000610/f437c4a5ef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000610/f437c4a5ef-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilberforce_Carnegie_Library_front.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilberforce_Carnegie_Library_front.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988752","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q89014706"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/greene-county/carnegie-library-old-wilberforce-university-campus-04000610/"}