About Us

  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 Alphonso Taft (and his son, William Howard) Salmon P. Chase, and Frank Duveneck.  

The clubhouse sits opposite the George Grey Barnard statue of Abraham Lincoln in Cincinnati's Lytle Park, occupying a two-story Greek Revival house on the homesite of Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Northwest Territory. A grand reading room was constructed in 1930 after the the property was purchased 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. After Civil War the format moved away from the debate structure to the current format (presentation sans formal discussion). After WWII, an informal limit of two papers by any member recounting war experiences was put in place. Membership is by election after sponsorship by a member in good standing. 

Today, members present original papers 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 Indiapolis, Notable guests include: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Booker T. Washington, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Clarence Darrow, Potter Stewart, and Robert Frost.

     The library collection includes member publications and bound volumes of papers delivered since th late 19th Century (also archived at the Cincinnati History Library & Archives' Geier Center). The club's diverse collections reflect a 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 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 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

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