Wednesday, June 3, 2026
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties
Know Your Neighbor . . 2➤ Entertainment . . . . . . . 6-7
Vol. 55, No. 49
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
picture of when Milford Public OLD YET NEW — Shown is an old building has since doubled in size, Library was a brand-new building. The provided by Milford Public Library. when it was expanded in 1995. Photo
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
NEW YET OLD — Shown is the Milford Public Library as it stands today. The library is now 107 years old but has still retained its Carnegie style. Photo provided by Phoebe Muthart.
Part three -
A 107-year-old CORNERSTONE
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a three-part series on Kosciusko County’s Carnegie libraries: Warsaw, Syracuse and Milford public libraries. By ABBY OLIVER Staff Writer As the last of three Carnegie libraries built in Kosciusko County in the early 1900s, Milford Public Library may be the smallest - but it has a rich, storied history in the Milford community. Before the library was built, the Columbian Reading Circle, a literary society of Milford women, led efforts to advocate for it. Other groups were active at the time, but Karl Stutzman, the library’s current director, said “the Columbians were the biggest movers and shakers among these women.” In fall 1907, CRC formed the Milford Public Library Associates, and the library’s first location opened in the Winona Interurban station at Hotel Milford. The library began with just 80 volumes borrowed from the state collection. Community members added books through a “book shower.” The first librarian, Arilla Arnold, volunteered her services for four years. In May 1916, the library board purchased the land where the building still stands today. The CRC was initially denied funding by the Andrew Carnegie Fund but later secured a $10,000 grant. The agreement required Milford, Van Buren and East Jefferson townships to fund all future maintenance, with no additional Carnegie support. The new library building opened in January 1919. Dorothea Kerlin, formerly Dorothea Groves, served as librarian from 1926 to 1973, nearly 50
of the community
LIBRARY CARETAKERS — Maureen Haab, associate director, left, and Karl Stutzman, library director, stand by some of Milford Public Library’s historical artifacts. This vintage card catalogue was used to search the library’s collection before online catalogues were available. Photo by Abby Oliver.
years. During her tenure, the collection grew to 18,000 volumes. The library also became a community hub. Its basement hosted groups such as the Farm Bureau, Grange, American Legion, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Conservation Club and the town board. During World War II, it served as a Red Cross workspace. Stutzman said the library was also used as a kindergarten class-
room, a memory many residents still share. “I do know that a lot of people in town have memories of it being the kindergarten in the 1950s and 1960s,” Stutzman said. “A whole generation of kids in town grew up going to a kindergarten (class) downstairs.” From 1919 until 1986, the building saw few major changes beyond refurbishing. In the 1970s,
Kerlin established the children’s services department. A major expansion in 1995 doubled the library’s size with an additional 4,409 square feet and added an elevator, making it the first building in Milford with a fully-accessible entrance. The project cost $1.2 million, compared to the library’s original $10,000 grant. “They did a very, very nice job - the library board - at keeping
the historical character and blending it in,” Stutzman said. Today, the library serves 4,013 people in Van Buren Township and 584 in rural East Jefferson Township. Services include seasonal reading programs, story time, a knitting club, nutritional programs and more. Through the Evergreen Indiana Consortium, the library now has access to more than 130 libraries and shared cataloging software, allowing extensive interlibrary lending. “We send out almost as many books as we request,” Stutzman said. To celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, a Kosciusko County “Passport Tour” will include the library as a stop. The building now features historical artifacts from its 100-plus years, including a table and chairs donated by the CRC in 1914. Stutzman said he looks forward to sharing that history with children this summer. “I think it’s really special that Milford itself has so much history and that our library is so historic,” he said. Stutzman believes the community shapes the library as much as the library serves the community. “It’s just a real blessing to be here in a community that loves the library and sees it as a place for growth and pride,” he said. “Part of the unique character of a small-town library is those longterm relationships.” More than a century after its founding, MPL continues its 107year tradition of serving the community.