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Institutional and Private LibrariesJohn Nelson Library%u2014Veterans Administration Hospital%u2014%u2014Marion, IndianaThis facility has had several names since being established in 1888. The library was constructed in 1915 and served as a library until c.2010. Now used for offices.The John Nelson Library is a part of the 212-acre Marion Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Historic District, which is located in the southeast portion of Marion, Indiana. Over the years, the facility has gone by a number of names. It was originally called the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, or simply The National Home, a title which is still used by many people today. The property received its Historic District status and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The United States Congress first authorized the building of facilities to care veterans in 1865. On July 23, 1888, the seventh such home was approved in Marion with a $200,000 appropriation. Many of the original buildings were designed by the Dayton, Ohio architectural firm of Peters and Burns. Today, much of the park-like campus remains as it was in the 1890s, the site continues to be used for veteran care as it was originally intended, and many of the historic buildings retain their original character. While there is some newer construction dating to the 1950s, it is concentrated on the west side of the site. An acute psychiatric facility was completed toward the end of the 20th century. Today, a number of the historic structures are now vacant, in disrepair, and slated for demolition.At the time the facility was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, is was comprised of more than 150 historically significant buildings. These included numerous wards (barracks), gymnasium, a building for nursing education, single and duplex quarters, service buildings, a theater, a chapel, administration buildings, laundry, gate house, police station, mess hall, and a telephone exchange. There is also a 61-acre cemetery that was established in 1890. It features an impressive stone and bronze statue of three Union soldiers in battle.The library building is of the Prairie Style with a half basement. It has a hip roof with broad overhangs, and tall, narrow casement windows with decorative stone squares between the windows on both levels.