Description: Reverse reads: "The Ohio Masonic home. Springfield." This is a photograph of the Ohio Masonic Home, located in Springfield, Ohio. There is a couple sitting on a bench in front of the building. The Ohio Masonic Home currently serves as an assisted living facility to care for elderly Free Masons. The facility also served as a children’s home from 1897 to 1956 in addition to its retirement home. A total of 740 children lived at the home during this time period. It differed from a traditional orphanage as the children came when a parent passed away or couldn’t support them properly. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F06_029_001
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Temples; Societies and clubs; Masonic buildings; Freemasonry; Monuments--Ohio--Springfield; Fraternal lodges; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project.
Places: Springfield (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image is a reproduction of a photograph depicting a view of the Ohio and Erie Canal looking north from the the Pugh Locks at Millersport, Ohio, ca. 1906. Visible in the photograph are both banks of the canal and what appears to be the locks' structure. A caption handwritten in white reads: "The old canal from Pugh Locks looking north." The Ohio and Erie Canal was one of Ohio's most important canals during the mid nineteenth century. During the late 1810s, Governor Thomas Worthington and Governor Ethan Allen Brown both supported the development of canals. Both men believed that Ohioans needed quick and easy access to the Ohio River and to Lake Erie if they were to profit financially. Farmers and business owners would be able to transport their products much more easily and cheaply with canals rather than turnpikes. Canals would also possibly open up new markets for Ohio goods. In 1822 the Ohio legislature created a new Ohio Canal Commission, which eventually recommended two routes: a route that started at Lake Erie, passing through the Cuyahoga Valley, the Muskingum Valley, the Licking Valley, and then to the Ohio River along the Scioto Valley (Ohio and Erie Canal) and a western route along the Miami and Maumee Valleys (Miami and Erie Canal). In 1825 the Ohio legislature approved both routes, and work began immediately. On July 4, 1825, work began on the Ohio and Erie Canal at Licking Summit just south of Newark. The surrounding swamps were drained to create the Licking Reservoir, today known as Buckeye Lake, in order to supply adequate water for the canal going north to Coshocton and south to Circleville. After the canal route was established, the state engineers discovered that there was a ridge of hills located south of the proposed reservoir through which they would have to cut the canal. Because it was impossible to raise the reservoir’s level, the ridge had to be cut down to the level of the reservoir. This "Deep Cut" marks the deepest part of the canal at 32 feet and runs south from Millersport for nearly two miles. To finance the canals, the Ohio government relied on loans. Ohio received an initial loan of $400,000 from bankers and businessmen living along the East Coast. The canal commissioners estimated that the Ohio and Erie Canal would cost $ 2.3 million, but it actually cost roughly $10,000 per mile to finish. Although the construction of both canals nearly bankrupted the state government, the canals allowed Ohioans to prosper, beginning in the 1830s all the way to the Civil War. In 1830 the Ohio legislature earmarked funds for the Miami and Erie Canal's extension to Defiance and Lake Erie; by 1833 the Ohio and Erie Canal was complete. Once completed, however, the state’s canals still faced numerous difficulties. The effects of flooding and freezing could and often did seriously damage the canals. Usually canals in the northern half of the state were drained dry from November to April. These difficulties paled in comparison to the advantages of having the canals. The cost to ship goods from the East Coast to Ohio and vice versa declined tremendously, from $125 per ton of goods to $25 per ton of goods. Travelers who were willing to trade time for economy could save considerable money by taking a canal boat. Most canals remained in operation in Ohio until the late 1800s. By the 1850s canals were losing business to the railroads, which offered several advantages. Railroads delivered passengers and goods more quickly, and they were not limited by a water source as canals were. Because of these advantages, railroads quickly supplanted the canals. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06110
Subjects: Ohio and Erie Canal (Ohio); Canals; Transportation--Ohio--History; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Millersport (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: William Paul of Brown county, Legally Executed at 12:22A.M., April 29, 1896, for the Murder of his father-in-law at Georgetown, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08050
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Prisoners and prisons; Death row
 

Description: Regimental colors of the 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Text on flag reads: 115th O.V.I. Regiment. Infantry. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02102
Subjects: Flags--Ohio; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
 

Description: In 1898, a prolific oil pool was discovered. The town of approximately 900 people grew to 12,000 in about two years as about 1,000 oil wells were drilled. The local college attendance dropped from 300 students to 25, as the students rushed to the oil field for jobs. The oil boom lasted for about two years and town decreased to the previous size. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07625
Subjects: Oil fields--Ohio; Oil wells; Oil industry; Harrison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Tennis Courts at Goldman park. Highland St. near Grand Ave." Goldman Park is a 23.5 acre park located at Highland and Roosevelt Blvd. This park features playground equipment, picnic shelter, picnic tables, softball diamonds, and double tennis courts. Middletown is located in Butler County, which is in Ohio's southwestern corner and borders Indiana on its western border. Butler County was established by the State of Ohio on March 24, 1803. Originally a part of Hamilton County, Butler County was named in honor of Richard Butler, who was killed in St. Clair’s Defeat in 1791. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F03_013_1
Subjects: Middletown (Ohio)--Social life and customs--Pictorial works; Tennis courts; Butler County (Ohio)--History--Pictorial works.
Places: Middletown (Ohio); Butler County (Oho)
 

Description: Various hand-written notes and drawings, possibly done by Col. Charles Young, who 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: Page1
Subjects: African American soldiers; African American men; Correspondence; Military officers; World War I, 1914-1918; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
 

Description: Skyline of Cincinnati and the Ohio River View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F01_029_01
Subjects: Cincinnati (Ohio); Ohio River
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photograph of a striking worker holding a copy of the Columbus Dispatch. It was in the month of May, but the date is unreadable. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_019
Subjects: Ohio Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph showing a man in a wool coat and hat standing before a cliff 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_b03_f181
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Portrait photography--United States--History;
Places: Ohio; West Virginia
 

Description: Photograph of "Romance of Steel, Modern" painted by Glenn M. Shaw in 1938. The painting is located at a post office in Warren, Ohio in Trumbull County. Photographed by Connie Girard in 1988. The photo is from the Ohio Post Office Artwork Collection, AV 48. The collection represents thirty murals or plaster reliefs installed in twenty-five Ohio post offices between 1937 and 1943. In 1988, Connie Girard photographed the artwork. Photos were published in the article “Not By Bread Alone, Post Office Art of the New Deal.” Timeline. June-July 1989, p. 2-19 by Gerald Markowitz and Marlene Park. In 1932, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President he promised Americans a "New Deal" and created public works programs to provide jobs for the millions of unemployed people, including artists. Ten thousand unknown and established artists were commissioned by the government to create murals, paintings, photographs, posters, prints and sculpture. The goal was not only to employ artists, but also to bring fine art into the daily lives of all people. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was funded for six months in 1933 – 1934. The PWAP was succeeded by the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture. Organized in 1934 the Section of Painting and Sculpture operated until 1943. Under the auspices of this organization sixty-six new Ohio post offices received artwork. The majority of the post offices were located in small towns. Post offices were chosen as a location for artwork because, particularly in small towns, they were centers of community activity. Most of the painted murals or murals in plaster relief created are realistic images reflecting the history, common activities or major industries of the communities in which the post offices are located. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: av48_b2_f24_03
Subjects: Post office stations and branches--Ohio--Photographs; Public art--Ohio--Photographs; Public Works of Art Project (United States); New Deal art
Places: Warren (Ohio); Trumbull County (Ohio)
 

Description: This 29 page booklet contains the text of Governor William Dennison, Jr.’s message to the second session of the 54th General Assembly on January 7, 1861. Dennison (1815-1882), a Whig-turned-Republican, served as Ohio’s 24th governor from 1860 to 1862. His term was marked by the opening stages of the Civil War, and he led Ohio citizens and troops decisively and effectively into the war effort. However, Dennison was not nominated for a second term. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Page1
Subjects: Presidents and Politics; Ohio Government; Governors
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)