Southworth Library (Dryden, New York)

For the library in Massachusetts, see Southworth Library (Dartmouth, Massachusetts).

Southworth Library
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Southworth Library in January 2010
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Location	24 W. Main St., Dryden, New York
Coordinates	42°29′26″N76°17′58″W / 42.49056°N 76.29944°W / 42.49056; -76.29944
Area	less than one acre
Built	1894
Architect	Miller, William Henry; Allington, J. & Son
MPS	Dryden Village MRA
NRHP reference No.	84003195 [1]
Added to NRHP	June 08, 1984

Southworth Library is a historic library building located at Dryden in Tompkins County, New York. It is a 1+1⁄2-story masonry building with a steeply pitched gable roof. It features a prominent bell tower with a Seth Thomas clock and circular windows include carved stone gargoyles. It is a distinctive, small scale example of Eclectic style civic architecture. ^[2] It was designed with open grid flooring in stack rooms to facilitate air circulation and two reading rooms. ^[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. ^[1]

The library was founded by Jennie McGraw. It opened in an existing building on South and Main Streets on September 25, 1884 ^[3] and later in a building constructed for the library in 1894. McGraw was the granddaughter of John Southworth of Dryden, who became a millionaire working as a farmer. ^[4] She used money to create a memorial to her mother and grandfather by establishing a $30,000 trust fund to build and maintain a library in Dryden. On April 22, 1883, the Southworth Library Association was incorporated. ^[3]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Karen Glazener (1982). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York MPS Southworth Library. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 30, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)
3. "Jennie McGraw". Southworth Library. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
4. George E. Goodrich (1898). "The McGraw Family in Dryden". Centennial History of Dryden. J.G. Ford. pp. 113–114, 217. Retrieved February 8, 2017.

External links

• Southworth Library, Dryden New York, Finger Lakes Library system