Description: Reverse reads: "IRONTON, O. IRONTON HIGH SCHOOL; Ident. - B-10 to Illinois National Picture Book 1/9/41; Location - Ironton, Ohio; Credit - courtesy of Gene Wyatt; Caption - School Lets Out, Ironton High School. This photo must be returned to Ohio Writers' Project, 8 E. Chestnut Street, Col. Ohio." Ironton High School was constructed in 1922 and demolished in 2007. The new school reuses parts of the old school, most notably preserving the arched entrance. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F07_001_001
Subjects: High schools--Ohio; School buildings--Ohio; Students; Lawrence County (Ohio)--History; Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works; Arches; Education; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Ironton Municipal Swimming Pool was constructed in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration, photo taken 1937-1943 Established in 1849 by John Campbell, Ironton was placed along the Ohio River to expedite transport of the area's rich iron-ore reserves. The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad opened in 1851 and is one of the earliest rail lines to operate in the state. In 1833 the first hot blast furnace in America was built nearby, now owned by U. S. Forest Service as Vesuvius Federal Recreation Area and Lake. Until 1890 Ironton was among the predominant producers of iron in the world. Ironton has also been credited as being part of the Underground Railroad. Campbell and other prominent citizens helped hide slaves in their homes. Flooding devastated the city in 1917 and again 20 years later. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F04_003_001_002
Subjects: Railroad; Iron industry; Swimming; Works Progress Administration; Community; Recreation; 1936
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Ohio River; Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Third-st, Ironton's main business block, looking west." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F04_001_001
Subjects: Ironton (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Streets--Ohio--Ironton
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. This photograph shows the rising levels of the Ohio River encroaching on Ironton, Ohio, a city of 20,000 inhabitants. Ironton was the home of lucrative iron and cement plants, as well as lumber and mining interests. The photograph centers on the Lawrence County Courthouse, located at 111 South 4th Street. The Ironton-Russell Bridge, a cantilever bridge built in 1922, connects Campbell Avenue of Ironton to Etna Street on the Kentucky side of the river. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F11_006_1
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "file 10-29-39. Ironton, O. Lawrence County Court House, built in 1906." The Lawrence County Courthouse, located at 111 South 4th Street in Ironton, was completed in 1908, after 2 years of construction. The NeoClassical (Greek Revival) style building was designed by architects Richards, McCarty & Bulford and replaced the previous 2-story brick building). Constructed by the contractor J. C. Unkefer & Company, the 3-story, cut-stone building topped with a large cupola, cost $150,000 to build. The grounds of the courthouse contain several items which serve as memorials to the history of Lawrence County. Flanking the front entrance are two howitzer cannons. A replica iron furnace serves as a reminder of Ironton's roll in the Hanging Rock region, which was a leading producer of charcoal and pig iron until more modern furnaces were built elsewhere, rendering the old iron furnaces obsolete. A replica of the Statue of Liberty was presented by the Boy Scouts of America in 1951. An annex costing $2.5 million dollars was built at the rear of the building in 1978. The 3 1/2 story addition is of contemporary design and connects to the original structure by a glass ramp. The courthouse also houses the Lawrence County Bar & Library View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F11_007_1
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio--History. Ohio; Hanging Rock Iron Region (Ohio)
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: One of 45 municipal swimming pools built by the Works Progress Administration, this pool was constructed in 1936 and photographed sometime between 1937-1943. Established in 1849 by John Campbell, Ironton was placed along the Ohio River to expedite transport of the area's rich iron-ore reserves. The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad opened in 1851 and is one of the earliest rail lines to operate in the state. In 1833 the first hot blast furnace in America was built, now owned by U. S. Forest Service as Vesuvius Federal Recreation Area and Lake. Until 1890 Ironton was among the predominant producers of iron in the world. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F04_003_001_001
Subjects: Swimming; Pools; Recreation; Works Progress Administration
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: The field of Tank Memorial Stadium in Ironton. Previously the Ironton Tanks used to be a popular team in their home town, and they were good enough to attract over 1,000 spectators to their games. The Tanks were known for going up against the NFL teams of their day in the 1920s and their impressive winning average against some of the best teams. Unfortunately, the team fell apart once the Great Depression hit the country and after 1930 the team no longer existed as anything more than a memory. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06728
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Ohio Sports; Football--Ohio--History; Ironton (Ohio)
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio); Ohio
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. This photograph shows a flooded commercial street in Ironton, Ohio, a city of 20,000 inhabitants. Pictured here is the intersection of 3rd and Center Streets, with S.S. Kresge Co. five and dime, Peoples' Credit Clothing, and Gallager Drugs on the left. Ironton was the home of lucrative iron and cement plants, as well as lumber and mining interests. President Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a component of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project for which each state had a number of writers hired by the federal government. One of the primary goals of the Federal Writers’ Project was to complete the American Guide Series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F11_001_1
Subjects: Storefronts--United States--Pictorial works; Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. This photograph shows the flooded corner of Park Avenue and 2nd Street in Ironton, Ohio, a city of 20,000 inhabitants. Ironton was the home of lucrative iron and cement plants, as well as lumber and mining interests. President Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a component of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project for which each state had a number of writers hired by the federal government. One of the primary goals of the Federal Writers’ Project was to complete the American Guide Series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F11_002_1
Subjects: Storefronts--United States--Pictorial works; Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "file 10-29-39. Ironton, O. Semet Solvay, which manufactures coke and iron by-products of coal." The photograph shows a manufacturing plant with three large smoke stacks, the closest of which reads "Ironton Solvay" The Solvay Process Company was a pioneer chemical industry of the United States, a major employer in central New York, and origin of the Village of Solvay, New York. The Solvay Process Company was a joint venture between the inventing chemists, Belgians Ernest and Alfred Solvay, who owned the patent rights to the Solvay process, and Americans William B. Cogswell (1834–1921) and Rowland Hazard II (1829–1898). The Hazard family invested in an affiliated business, the Semet-Solvay Company, formed in 1895. Louis Semet, a relative of Ernest and Alfred Solvay, had developed with the brothers a coke oven designed to recover valuable materials formerly wasted in the coking process. In 1892 the Solvay Process Company built the first of the ovens in America, forming the Semet-Solvay Company three years later to build and operate them. Coke plants were located in Ashland, Kentucky; Buffalo, New York; Detroit, Michigan; and Ironton, Ohio. Semet-Solvay operated its own mines in West Virginia, providing much of its coal supply. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F11_005_1
Subjects: Coke industry--United States; Coke industry--By-products; Semet-Solvay Company; Solvay Process Company;
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: John Campbell, of pig iron fame, established the city of Ironton and subsequently brought an economic boom to the area. He also aided in the escape of slaves to Canada on the Underground Railroad. Scorching marks behind the front door of the residence are alleged to be the product of a horrific accident. A Campbell daughter died of burn injury after a chandelier fell. In mourning, another daughter postponed her marriage for a year. From 1935 to 1942, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) through its Federal Writers' Project created The American Guide Series, which included forty-eight state guides, as well as supplemental guides for large cities, etc. The state guides are divided into three sections. In the first section are general essays about the state on things such as agriculture, culture, history, industry, religion, etc. The second section contains an overview of the various cities and towns around the state, as well as enumerating various points of interest. The last section is dedicated to various tours around the state. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F01_082
Subjects: Ironton; Underground Railroad; Book Illustration; Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Works Progress Administration; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton Ohio; Ohio River; Lawrence County
 

Description: Photographic reproduction of a portrait of Asbury Parker (b. 1830?). He was a fugitive slave who crossed into Ohio at Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio, on his way to freedom in Canada. He is shown here wearing the slave clothes he escaped in. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03192
Subjects: Ironton (Ohio); Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Multicultural Ohio--African American Ohioans
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)