NWPA Stories is a blog by Benson Memorial Library, sharing local history stories drawn from the archives of our library!
Benson Memorial Library is located in Titusville, Pennsylvania. We serve the Titusville area and are part of the Crawford County Federated Library System (CCFLS). Stories featured here come from all over Northwestern Pennsylvania including Crawford, Erie, Warren, and Venango Counties, and sometimes even further afield, depending where the research leads us!
About Our Writer
Jessica Hilburn is Benson Memorial Library’s Executive Director and formerly, its first historian. She and her coworkers have recently completed digitizing the library’s obituary index cards into a searchable spreadsheet. She can be reached at jessica.hilburn@ccfls.org.
About Benson Memorial Library
The library was proposed by Robert, William, and Bessie Emerson Benson in 1902 as a living memorial to their late parents, the oil entrepreneur Byron David and Minerva Benson. City residents (at that time, white men were the only residents who could vote) voted to accept the gift of the library. The Benson children spent $35,000 constructing and furnishing the library. It officially opened in February of 1904 to an enthusiastic crowd.
We hope you enjoy reading our stories! If you have any suggestions for a story, reach us via the contact us page and we will get back to you ASAP.
Location Information
Benson Memorial Library
213 North Franklin Street, Titusville, PA 16354
814.827.2913
NWPA Stories 