Description: Cabinet card portrait of author Paul Laurence Dunbar as a young man, ca. 1890. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872 to Joshua and Matilda Dunbar, both former slaves, and was encouraged by his mother in poetry and his schooling from an early age. He attended Dayton Central High School and was the sole African American student at that time. Following his high school graduation, Dunbar worked as an elevator operator while writing poetry in his free time. He built a reputation as a successful literary voice and writer of dialect poetry, and was the first African American poet to receive critical acclaim for his work. Dunbar authored twelve collections of poetry, five novels, one play, and a large number of newspaper articles before his death from tuberculosis on February 9, 1906. He is buried in the Woodland Cemetery in Dayton. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05254
Subjects: Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 1872-1906; American poetry--Ohio; Literary Ohio; African American Ohioans; Poets; Authors
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of Anna Arnold Hedgeman with Percy Sutton, Manhattan Borough President and Dr. John L. S. Holloman, President of Health and Hospital Corporation in New York City. Anna Arnold Hedgeman was a prominent figure in civil rights, women's rights and education in the 20th century. She taught at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi after graduating as the first African American woman to earn a degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Hedgeman was the first African American woman to serve on the cabinet of a New York mayor in the 1950s and in 1963 she helped A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin plan the March on Washington. She held honorary doctorates from both Howard University and Hamline University, was an executive of the YWCA and was the author of two books: "The Trumpet Sounds" and "The Gift Of Chaos." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS15_B05F03_02
Subjects: African American women; African American authors; African American Educators; Historical Black Colleges and Universities; Politicians; Civil rights; Howard University; Activists
 

Description: A hand-written letter to Ada Young from Charles Noel Young “Tonton” from France, in which he discusses visiting his Aunt Loulouze during Easter Vacation. Noel’s father, Col. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army. In 1918, after being forced into retirement, due to health concerns, he rode on horseback 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; ; Military officers; World War I, 1914-1918; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
 

Description: This fillister plane is a type of plane used to cut rebates, or grooves, into wood. It is a duplex plane, which means it supports using either of two positions by holding two blades. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H73453
Subjects: Society of Separatists of Zoar--History; Tools
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas 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_B05F0962_001
Subjects: Republic Steel Corporation; Steel industry; Youngstown (Ohio)
 

Description: 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_f82
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Portrait photography--United States--History
Places: Ohio; West Virginia
 

Description: Open hearth stacks and precipitator at US Steel Ohio Works Youngstown, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0009_B07F01_006
Subjects: Open-hearth furnaces; United States Steel Corporation; Ohio Works
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph is a view of the Toledo Zoo’s amphitheater, one of several buildings constructed at the zoo between 1934 and 1937 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration. The amphitheater was dedicated in 1936. In this photograph, musicians are seated on chairs in front of the stage, and a conductor is standing on a raised platform in the middle of the group. The orchestra is practicing for a Toledo Civic Light Opera Production. Professional light opera productions were held at this amphitheater from 1939 to 1947. A few people are seen standing on the stage, which has scenery in place, and walking or sitting on the grounds in front of the musicians. A small cluster of people are visible in the raked seating area. Stage lighting sits atop a metal tower in the foreground. The amphitheater's architecture resembles the Mission Revival style, with curved lines, copper dome towers, and tile roof. Like other WPA-era buildings at the zoo, the amphitheater incorporated materials from demolished structures in the area: stone, wood, timber, and copper. The large stone blocks bordering the huge arch are from locks of the former Miami and Erie Canal. The other buildings erected by the WPA are the zoo's aquarium, reptile house, museum, and aviary. All of the WPA buildings, including the amphitheater, are still in use. The Toledo Zoo was founded in 1900. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06170
Subjects: Toledo Zoo (Toledo, Ohio); Zoos; Toledo (Ohio); Animals
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company's Brier Hill works coke plant to the left and housing to the left with tracks separating them. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B03F39_002
Subjects: Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Brier Hill works; Steel industry; Coke
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: Paul Chiavaro, of Summit County, was electrocuted July 24, 1919, for the Murder of Partolman Gethen Richards. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08107
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Capital punishment
Places: Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This pitcher is round in shape and was made from metal. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H8198
Subjects: Society of Separatists of Zoar--History; Kitchen utensils--United States--History
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: A park road along a body of water, most likely a river, with people and horse-drawn carriages in the foreground and wooden structures in the background. It is most likely an image of Olenatangy Park located along Olentangy River in Columbus, Ohio. Olentangy Park was an amusement park established in 1880 in an area already popular for picnincs and swimming. It was considered the largest such park in the United States, featuring a formal picnic area, amusement rides, a carousel, a zoo, roller coaster rides, a boat house, a theater, and the world largest swimming pool. The park's prosperity started dwindling as a result of the depression and its rides and equipment were eventually sold out between 1937 and 1939. Some remnants of the park can still be found in the area today and its carousel operates at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07729
Subjects: Popular culture; Public parks--Ohio--Columbus; Rivers--Ohio--Columbus; Recreation; Amusement parks
Places: Columbus (Ohio)