[LIB6512] - The Ashtabula County District Library System began as a subscription library association in Ashtabula City in 1813. It was incorporated in 1896 as the Ashtabula Free Public Library. The building located on 44th Street was built in 1903 with funds from Andrew Carnegie. A change in State Library law permitted the Ashtabula Free Public Library to become a county district library in 1953. An addition was added in 1958 and a new entrance and elevator in 1984. During a million dollar remodeling project, a fire destroyed the second floor. The library, relocated for eighteen months, received national exposure from a syndicated Chicago columnist, who wrote a column to his readers about the fire. As a result, over 30,000 books were donated from all over the United States. The renovated building was reopened in March of 1992. [From the website]