Akron University home economics class photograph   Save
Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: Probably dated to the 1930s, this photograph shows a home economics class at Akron University. Originally founded in 1870, the University of Akron was known as Buchtel College. The college was established by the Universalist Church with financial help from Akron industrialist, and Universalist Church member, John Buchtel. In 1909, Buchtel College became a private, non-denominational school, before becoming a municipal university of the city of Akron in 1913. By this time, courses were offered in engineering, commercial subjects, secretarial science, teaching, and home economics. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. 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_B01F02_031
Subjects: University of Akron; Home economics; Students; Universities and colleges; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)