Description: Caption reads: "Langley's Inn, built as an Indian trading post in 1828. Still stands in an excellent state of preservation on River Road at E. Wayne St. in Maumee, Ohio." The oldest business building in Lucas County, Ohio, the Commercial Building at 301 River Road has been known by different names over the years, including the Neeley House, the Eagle, the Schieley House, the Bismark, the Seurin Hotel, the Langley Inn, the Governor’s Inn, J. Brown’s River Inn, and the Old Plantation Inn. In 1836, Levi Beebe built the Commercial Building. Initially, several different businesses occupied the structure, including various law firms, several stores, and even the local post office. The building also housed an inn at this time. Several prominent people purportedly stayed at the inn, including future presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes. Businesses in the Commercial Building flourished during the 1830s and 1840s. The structure was located on the stagecoach route between Detroit, Michigan and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Also, Maumee is located on the Maumee River, and river traffic brought business and guests to the area. Maumee also was the original county seat of Lucas County, bringing people to the community who were engaged in legal matters or in politics. In 1837, the Lucas County Whig Party actually formed in the Commercial Building. In 1852, the Lucas County seat moved to Toledo. The Maumee economy weakened at this time, but the Commercial Building continued to house various businesses. Purportedly, the structure served as a stop on the Underground Railroad in the years before the American Civil War. During the twentieth century, the building principally functioned as an inn and restaurant. As of this writing, the Commercial Building houses Giannos Restaurant. The Commercial Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F02_012_1
Subjects: National Historic Landmark Program (U.S.); Historic sites--Maumee River Valley (Ind. and Ohio)--Pictorial works; Lucas County (Ohio)--History.
Places: Maumee (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Republic Steel Corporation Collection (MSS 192) consists of 13,000 black and white photographic negatives, 2,000 color photographic negatives, and many 35 mm slides which document Republic Steel Corporation’s main production facilities and its subsidiaries, 1941-1975. This collection also includes images of social events such as company picnics, award banquets, and dances. Founded in 1899, Republic Iron and Steel Company was a steel production company based in Youngstown, Ohio, and the result of a consolidation of 34 steel mills across the United States including the Mahoning Valley’s Brown Bonnell Iron Company, Andrews Brothers and Company, and Mahoning Iron Company. From 1927-1937, Republic Iron and Steel Company expanded its reach by acquiring a number of other companies such as Trumbull Steel Company in Warren, Ohio, and Central Alloy Steel Corporation in Canton, Ohio. With its expansion, Republic Iron and Steel Company became the third largest steel producer in the United States behind United States Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel Company, and changed its name to Republic Steel Corporation to reflect its new status. After the outbreak of World War II in 1941, the Corporation’s production increased by 33%. This increased production continued into the 1950s and 1960s as the company continued to be one of the leading developers of steel production technology. Due to a myriad of factors including decreased demand for steel from automobile manufacturers and imported foreign steel, steel sales declined and in 1984 the Republic Steel Corporation was purchased by LTV Corporation, which led to the closure of the Youngstown plant. LTV filed for bankruptcy in December 2000. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: YHC_MSS192_B02F251_12
Subjects: Republic Steel Corporation; Steel industry; Youngstown (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a group of men working on the construction of the Ohio State Office Building, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1930-1933. Steel girders form a backdrop to the scene. The figures of three men and a wheelbarrow are the visual center of the photo. Also visible are wood planks, framing, and rows of what may be cables or rebar. Groundbreaking for the Ohio State Office Building, 65 South Front Street, took place on November 19, 1929. Construction began in October 1930, and the cornerstone was laid on May 16, 1931. An explosion damaged the structure on April 14, 1932, but the building eventually opened on March 27, 1933.The 14-story building was designed by architect Harry Hake, Frank Bail, and Alfred Hahn. The building later became the Ohio Judicial Center. In 2011 the state Supreme Court named the center in honor of the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the second-longest-serving chief justice in state history at the time of his death in April 2010. The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center is considered an excellent example of architecture from the Art Deco period. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06914
Subjects: Columbus (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Ohio Judicial Center (Columbus, Ohio); Construction industry
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts two workers, one on a ladder, at the coke plant that provided coke for the blast furnaces at the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company's South Chicago Works. Coke plants burn coal in order to remove impurities; the resulting fuel, coke, is then layered into a blast furnace with iron ore in order to produce pig iron in the first step of the steelmaking process. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B05F72_001
Subjects: Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company; Steel industry and trade--Illinois--Chicago; Coke plants; Steel workers
Places: Chicago (Illinois)
 

Description: A woman and boy pose for a photograph on horseback. A farmhouse is visible just behind them, along with telephone poles. This photograph was taken by traveling photographer Albert J. Ewing, ca. 1896-1912. Like most of Ewing's work, it was likely taken in southeastern Ohio or central West Virginia. Born in 1870 in Washington County, Ohio, near Marietta, Ewing most likely began his photography career in the 1890s. The 1910 US Census and a 1912-1913 directory list him as a photographer. A negative signed "Ewing Brothers" and a picture with his younger brother, Frank, indicate that Frank may have joined the business. After 1916, directories list Albert as a salesman. He died in 1934. The Ewing Collection consists of 5,055 glass plate negatives, each individually housed and numbered. Additionally, the collection includes approximately 450 modern contact prints made from the glass plate negatives. Subjects include infants and young children, elderly people, families, school and religious groups, animals and rural scenes. In 1982, the Ohio Historical Society received the collection, still housed in the original dry plate negative boxes purchased by Albert J. Ewing. A selection of the original glass plate negatives were exhibited for the first time in 2013 at the Ohio Historical Center. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV71_b01_f37
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Animals; Families
Places: Ohio; West Virginia
 

Description: This is a wooden butter mold. It is round, has a plunger, and the patter on the plunger is of wheat. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H8858_bottom
Subjects: Society of Separatists of Zoar--History; Kitchen utensils--United States--History
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Four photographs show swimmers and sunbathers at Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County. Lake Hope Forest Park was created in 1937 and became Lake Hope State Park in 1949. Visitors to the park enjoy hiking, camping, swimming, and boating. The photographs measure 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3009_3627115_001
Subjects: Sports; Arts and entertainment; Daily life; Geography and Natural Resources; Swimming; Sunbathing
Places: McArthur (Ohio); Vinton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of Charles Noel "Tonton" Young, Charles Young's son, sitting at a table. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking African American officer in the Army. He is known for having been forced into retirement due to health concerns before the start of World War I and later riding from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness for duty. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS3_B02F75
Subjects: African American soldiers; African American men; Military officers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph ca. 1935-1943 is of the U.S. Post Office located at 150 North Limestone Street, Springfield, Ohio 45501. Construction began on this Art Deco style building in 1934 and has several murals by artist Herman Henry Wessel. In the 1970’s these mural were covered up during energy conservation remodeling on the building, but in 2009, restoration began to restore these murals and the two story skylight. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F08_008
Subjects: Springfield (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Post office buildings Ohio; Wessel, Herman Henry, 1878-1969
Places: Springfield (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Republic Steel Corporation Collection (MSS 192) consists of 13,000 black and white photographic negatives, 2,000 color photographic negatives, and many 35 mm slides which document Republic Steel Corporation’s main production facilities and its subsidiaries, 1941-1975. This collection also includes images of social events such as company picnics, award banquets, and dances. Founded in 1899, Republic Iron and Steel Company was a steel production company based in Youngstown, Ohio, and the result of a consolidation of 34 steel mills across the United States including the Mahoning Valley’s Brown Bonnell Iron Company, Andrews Brothers and Company, and Mahoning Iron Company. From 1927-1937, Republic Iron and Steel Company expanded its reach by acquiring a number of other companies such as Trumbull Steel Company in Warren, Ohio, and Central Alloy Steel Corporation in Canton, Ohio. With its expansion, Republic Iron and Steel Company became the third largest steel producer in the United States behind United States Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel Company, and changed its name to Republic Steel Corporation to reflect its new status. After the outbreak of World War II in 1941, the Corporation’s production increased by 33%. This increased production continued into the 1950s and 1960s as the company continued to be one of the leading developers of steel production technology. Due to a myriad of factors including decreased demand for steel from automobile manufacturers and imported foreign steel, steel sales declined and in 1984 the Republic Steel Corporation was purchased by LTV Corporation, which led to the closure of the Youngstown plant. LTV filed for bankruptcy in December 2000. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: YHC_MSS192_B04F780_001
Subjects: Republic Steel Corporation; Steel industry; Youngstown (Ohio)
 

Description: The two engravings were taken for the Presidential/Vice Presidential campaign in 1896. William McKinley successfully ran for president with Garret Hobart as his running mate. They defeated Bryan and Sewall. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS643
Subjects: Presidential elections; McKinley, William, 1843-1901--Pictorial works; Ohio--History
 

Description: Photograph of Colonel Charles Young visiting Fort Des Moines, Iowa en route to San Francisco, California. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking African American officer in the Army. He is known for having been forced into retirement due to health concerns before the start of World War I and later riding from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness for duty. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_OVS18_young
Subjects: African American soldiers; African American men; Military officers; World War I, 1914-1918; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
Places: Des Moines (Iowa)