Impact of the July 8th Storm on the Library and Historic Yellow Springs Village

Additional damage occurred to the roof of the Library building as a result of the storm on July 8, 2025.

The Washington building.

Sycamore branches fell on the driveway.

Library parking lot.

Library parking lot side.

Library new roof damages, Art School Road side.

Library ceiling pierced by a branch in the program room.

A branch that fell through the Library ceiling.

A puddle from rain entering the ceiling.

Industrial air cleaner.

By Tim Compton

Executive Director of Historic Yellow Springs

Having climbed the fields of shattered and fallen trees and listened to the chainsaws for days on end, the team at Historic Yellow Springs feels incredibly fortunate for the relatively limited damage to buildings that occurred with the intense storm on July 8th. Swaths of healthy leafy trees were torn and twisted from their bases by forces difficult to comprehend. All told, they estimate nearly one hundred trees were destroyed or badly damaged across the property. The cleanup efforts will continue for months.

As you may recall, a previous extreme weather incident led a tree to collapse, causing structural damage to the roof of the Library building back in February. Since then, both Historic Yellow Springs and the Chester Springs Library have worked almost daily with insurance companies and engineers to reconcile the best way to bring this old building up to code compliance and ensure safety for regular public use. We empathize with the public for the loss of resources, as the building has been closed, and have continued to work to find creative solutions, offering the library alternate space throughout the village for their programming, where possible.

While the temporary protection applied to the roof after the February event held up impressively in the most recent extreme weather event, wind-torn limbs and the fierce rain punctured new holes on the opposite side of the roof and allowed water to reach inside the building.

Within a day of forging a path through the storm debris, Historic Yellow Springs had professional carpentry crews on site, ensuring the roof was watertight and not in danger of failing. Commercial-sized air handlers and dehumidifiers have been running in the building to cycle the air and move out any existing moisture.

Working alongside the library and insurance companies, Historic Yellow Springs is planning next steps to get this historic building bustling again. Preliminary evaluations are completed, cleanup is ongoing, and engineers’ plans that face the new realities are being re-drawn.

Using the buildings that were spared, Historic Yellow Springs continues to coordinate events throughout the village to develop a robust community engagement calendar of programs that can keep this amazing community engaged and inspired. They are dedicated to restoring all facets of the village for a vibrant and engaging future. And will continue to share the steps, challenges, and ways that you can help make progress towards that goal.

We thank those who have already stepped up to support with time, talents, and funds as we fight back from these persistent, unprecedented weather events.

Best,

Tim Compton

Historic Yellow Springs

Executive Director