05 May 2009

Ohio Genealogical Society Schedules Groundbreaking for Its New Library on 29 May

The Ohio Genealogical Society will break ground for its new library and headquarters in Bellville, Ohio, on Friday, May 29 at 10:30 a.m.

For several years, OGS has been raising funds to build a library designed to facilitate genealogical research by its members and visitors, and to assure preservation of irreplaceable records of interest to genealogists. The new library building with floor space of 18,000 square feet will be built from the ground up to accomplish those purposes. The start of construction coincides with the society’s 50th anniversary.

The building site is about 5 miles from the existing library and headquarters building at 713 South Main Street in Mansfield. That building had been used as a furniture store before the society purchased it in 1997.

The 8-acre building site on the outskirts of Bellville was donated to OGS in 1997 by James and Marjorie Gorman. The property is located 2 miles north of Bellville on SR 97.

Following the groundbreaking ceremony at the building site, OGS members and guests will move to the nearby Deer Ridge Golf Club, 900 Comfort Plaza Dr., for a reception and remarks by society representatives and state and local officials.

Members and guests who plan to attend the reception are asked to make a reservation with the Society by calling 419-756-7294. Attendance will be limited to 175 persons.

OGS is the nation’s largest state genealogical society with more than 5,000 members from Ohio and elsewhere. The society has more than 90 chapters throughout the state.