Established in 1849, The Literary Club of Cincinnati is the oldest continually operating such organization in North America. Founding members include woman's rights activist and abolitionist John Celivergos Zachos, Stanley Matthews (Supreme Court Justice), Ainsworth Rand Spofford (Sixth Librarian of Congress) and nine others. The next year, a young Rutherford B. Hayes was elected to membership. Early prominent members included William Howard Taft, Salmon P. Chase, and Frank Duveneck.
Papers (1885 to present) are archived in the club’s library and the Cincinnati History Library & Archives' Geier Center. The clubhouse sits opposite the George Grey Barnard statue of Abraham Lincoln in Lytle Park in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, occupying a two-story Greek Revival house on the homesite of Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Northwest Territory. A grand reading room was added to the rear of the property in 1930 after the club purchased the building from the Taft family. The c.1820 clubhouse, the Guilford School Building (c. 1916) and the Taft Museum (c. 1820) make up the core of the Lytle Park Historic District.
In early years, presentations often took place in the form of debate, after which members voted on the winner the debate (not necessarily the stance) with the results published in local papers. Changes after the Civil War included a move away from the debate structure to the current (presentation sans formal discussion) format and an informal limit of two papers by any member recounting war experiences. Membership is by election after sponsorship by a member in good standing.
Today, members present an original paper on the subject of their choosing. By tradition, the papers are non-political and non-sectarian. Paper titles are announced in advance, but (also by tradition) they tend to be purposely oblique.
Members who left Cincinnati in the late 19th Century were instrumental in founding similar clubs in Chicago and Indianapolis. Notable guests: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Booker T. Washington, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Clarence Darrow, Potter Stewart, Robert Frost, and Neil Armstrong.
The club property was originally the home of William Sargent, the Secretary of the Northwest Territory. The two-story Greek Revival brick house, circa 1830, was purchased from the Taft family in 1930, when it was renovated and the grand reading room added.
The club's collections reflect a diverse range of member interests from the original Fort Washington (1789), the Civil and Spanish American Wars to Rookwood & Bronze Age pottery. Private group tours can be arranged in advance.
The library holds a diverse collection of member publications as well as nearly 4,000 papers delivered by members since the 19th Century. Papers are archived on site and at the Cincinnati Musuem & History Library.
The club regularly hosts public events, and shares use of its historic property with similar non-partisan and/or non-profit groups with a focus on, but not limited to, the literary arts, education, and intellectual growth.
Its Poet Laureate Series hosts public readings at its clubhouse. Recent laureates include: Ohio Poet Laureates David Lucas and Kari Gunter Seymour; Kentucky Poet Laureates George Ella Lyon, Frank X Walker, and Richard Taylor; as well as West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman. Cincinnati Poet Laureates, Pauletta Hansel, Manuel Iris, and Yalie Saweda Kamara have also presented. Current Cincinnati & Mercantile Library Poet Laureate Richard Hague is a member and past president (2021-2022).
Donations to the Literary Club of Cincinnati help support these efforts and are tax-deductible.
Research access is by advance letter of request:
Literary Club of Cincinnati
500 East 4th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Attn: Rick Kesterman, Librarian
