Historical
Jennie McGraw was born in Dryden in 1840. Her maternal grandfather was John Southworth, a wealthy landowner. Her father was John McGraw, who, working with Mr. Southworth in the mercantile and lumber trades, also became a millionaire. Mr. McGraw financed and helped build Cornell's first library. In 1880, Jennie McGraw married Daniel Willard Fiske, a world renowned professor and Cornell's first librarian
Because of her love for Dryden, Jennie wanted the community to share the wealth inherited from her grandfather. Her lifelong involvement with education, travel and all things cultural was evident in her will. A $30,000 trust fund was set up for the establishment of the Southworth Library Association, whose purpose was to build and maintain a library in Dryden as a lasting memorial to her mother and her grandfather. The Association was incorporated April 22, 1883.
The library was opened September 25, 1884 in a temporary location on the corner of Main and South Streets. William Henry Miller, architect of the Uris Library at Cornell and many other buildings in and around Ithaca, was engaged to design a permanent building. On October 10, 1893 the cornerstone was laid at the present site. Built of Ohio sandstone at a cost of $15,000, the Southworth Library was completed in 1894. It contained two reading rooms and stack rooms with unique open grid flooring for maximum circulation of air. Space was allowed above the stacks for the future addition of another floor if and when that
became desirable. About two thousand books costing $2,500 were purchased to start the collection. The remainder of the fund was invested for the maintenance of the building and addition of books. A Board of seven Trustees was appointed to administer the library.
Prized Holdings
Southworth Library owns the original manuscript of an address by Abraham Lincoln given on the occasion of his winning a second term as President. It was given to John Dwight, Congressman from Dryden, by Lincoln's son Robert in appreciation of Dwight's support of the Lincoln Memorial Project. Although the manuscript is kept in the vault of the First Bank of Dryden, during the bicentennial celebration in 1976 it was displayed in a glass case in the library. Residents filed past all day for a glimpse of the historic words as they were originally penned by Mr. Lincoln.
Three primitive oil portraits of Jennie McGraw's parents and John Ellis, her great, great grandfather, were presented to the library in 1886. All are considered priceless. In 1986 those of John and Rhoda McGraw were restored to bring back the original detail and to preserve them for the future.
A beautifully bound volume of poems written for Jennie by Willard Fiske was given to the library by Mr. Fiske in 1887 after Jennie's death. Mr. Fiske also donated a unique set of the works of John Dryden, the English poet for whom the town was named.
Dryden's first newspaper, Rumsey's Companion, began publication in 1856. Copies of all issues are contained in our archives.
Original copies of the Centennial History of Dryden 1797-1897 can also be found at the library. Reprints of this valuable historical account were first offered for sale in 1976, a project of the Bicentennial Committee. A few copies are still available.
The eagle displayed in the reading room was hand carved from two pieces of applewood. It was a gift from S. Jansen Miller, a Dryden native and world famous violin maker.
Our Collection
Our holdings have grown from the original 2,500 to more than 20,000 volumes to include: