Side A: This Queen Anne style building with segmental-arched windows and steep hipped roof was Burton’s second high school. Completed in 1885 at a cost of $12,500, it is wood framed with a brick and stone exterior, modeled after an academy in River Falls, Wisconsin. Its basement and two upper floors contained 12,720 square feet of space, enough for all twelve grades. There were two separate entrances; girls entered on the left and boys on the right. Electricity was installed in 1921 by the superintendent and students. Classes met here until 1936. During its history, the building housed various organizations, including the Red Cross, Opportunity School of Geauga County (later Metzenbaum), Geauga County Historical Society, American Legion, and County Extension Office. In 1937, it became the home of the Burton Public Library and in 1983 was expanded with a north wing designed to be architecturally consistent with the original 1885 structure.
Side B: The Burton Public Library was established in 1910 by the Civic Improvement Society, a group of Burton women dedicated to the betterment of the Burton community. The Society held a community “book shower” that provided 567 volumes to begin the collection. Library membership was one dollar a year. It became a free library in 1912 when public funding was secured. The collection moved to various locations in the village until 1936 when the Civic Improvement Society relinquished responsibility to a library board of trustees appointed by the Burton Township school board. In 1937, it moved to its current location assisted by the Burton Chamber of Commerce. The Library remains an independent institution serving the Berkshire School District, which includes Troy, Claridon, and Burton Townships and Burton Village.
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