Rutherford P. Hayes

Rutherford Platt Hayes was born on June 24, 1858, and died on July 31, 1927. He was an American agriculturist and librarian. Hayes was the third son of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States, and Lucy Webb Hayes, the First Lady.

Hayes pursued higher education at Michigan State University and Cornell University, graduating in 1880. During his time at Cornell, he was a member of the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon. He also attended the Boston Institute of Technology.

In 1882, Hayes returned to his family’s residence in Fremont, Ohio. He was employed by the Fremont Savings Bank. Shortly after returning to Fremont, Hayes became a trustee of the Birchard Library, which was founded by his grand-uncle, Sardis Birchard. He introduced progressive initiatives to the library’s management, including establishing a children’s area and distributing boxes of books to neighboring towns, methods similar to modern bookmobiles. He published the library's catalog in installments through a local newspaper.

Hayes was a founding member of the Ohio Library Association in 1895 and played a role in advocating for the appointment of a state library commission; he was appointed to the Ohio Library Commission in 1896.

He later moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he continued his involvement with library issues and worked on the development of a traveling library. Subsequently, he relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, where he acquired significant land holdings. In Asheville, Hayes collaborated with Edward W. Pearson, an African American businessman, to develop residential neighborhoods in West Asheville targeted toward African-American residents.

In North Carolina, Hayes engaged in large-scale scientific farming. He served as president of the Appalachian Forest Reserve and the western North Carolina Fair. In 1922, he moved to Clearwater, Florida, where he assumed roles as chairman of the board of the Clearwater Savings and Loan Association and the First Mortgage Investment Company.

Throughout his life, Hayes maintained an active interest in library affairs. He supported library initiatives in Asheville and Clearwater and remained a member of the board of trustees of the Birchard Library in Fremont, Ohio. He also served as secretary of the American Library Association, and from October 1897 to January 1898, he served as vice president and acting president of the organization.

Rutherford Platt Hayes died in Tampa, Florida, of prostate cancer.