Description: This is a photograph of the Fairfield County Courthouse, located on located at 224 East Main Street in Lancaster, Ohio. This is the second courthouse built for the county. George and Guy Blair were the stone masons who built the Fairfield County Courthouse in Lancaster, Ohio. Blackhand sandstone, used for the construction, was quarried in Fairfield County. The building is of Renaissance-Romanesque style with a flat roof, wide bracketed cornice and curved windows with ornamental window hoods. The iron fence surrounding the building was made by the Eagle Machine Company. The keystone over the entrance to the courthouse is the carved stone face of Henry Ebner, the architect from St Louis. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_050_001
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio); Lancaster (Ohio); Courthouses; Government buildings
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photograph of the Fairfield County Courthouse, located on located at 224 East Main Street in Lancaster, Ohio. This is the second courthouse built for the county. The original courthouse was constructed in 1806, until space became an issue in 1858. Originally, the contract allowed for an expansion, but it was later considered too small for the population. Building on the new courthouse began in 1868 and it was completed in 1872. The cost was $138, 921. The architect was Jacob Orman. The building was constructed of locally quarried stone for the three storied building. The long arched windows line the facade, three on the front and nine on the sides and are separated by a pair of Doric pilasters. The main entrance is flanked by an inner Corinthian column and an outer Corinthian pilaster. The door is located inside a recessed portico and is topped by a fanlight. The flat roof is supported by an entablature with urns on the corners. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_047_001
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio); Courthouses; Government buildings
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photograph of the Fairfield County Courthouse, located on located at 224 East Main Street in Lancaster, Ohio. This is the second courthouse built for the county. The original courthouse was constructed in 1806, until space became an issue in 1858. Originally, the contract allowed for an expansion, but it was later considered too small for the population. Building on the new courthouse began in 1868 and it was completed in 1872. The cost was $138, 921. The architect was Jacob Orman. The building was constructed of locally quarried stone for the three storied building. The long arched windows line the facade, three on the front and nine on the sides and are separated by a pair of Doric pilasters. The main entrance is flanked by an inner Corinthian column and an outer Corinthian pilaster. The door is located inside a recessed portico and is topped by a fanlight. The flat roof is supported by an entablature with urns on the corners. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_048_001
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio); Courthouses; Government buildings
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows three boys approaching a covered bridge in Fairfield County, Ohio. The photograph's caption reads "Off for a day's adventure, Fairfield County." Ohio has a large number of covered bridges, falling second only to Pennsylvania in quantity. Within the state of Ohio, Fairfield and Ashtabula Counties lead the state in containing the most original covered bridges. Most of the covered bridges in Fairfield County were built between 1871-1906, with original construction beginning in 1849. 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_B01F17_001_001
Subjects: Covered bridges--Ohio; Transportation--Ohio; Boys; Children; Summer
Places: Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows three boys approaching a covered bridge in Fairfield County, Ohio. The photograph's caption reads "Off for a day's adventure, Fairfield County." Ohio has a large number of covered bridges, falling second only to Pennsylvania in quantity. Within the state of Ohio, Fairfield and Ashtabula Counties lead the state in containing the most original covered bridges. Most of the covered bridges in Fairfield County were built between 1871 and 1906, with original construction beginning in 1849. 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_B01F17_002_001
Subjects: Covered bridges--Ohio; Transportation--Ohio; Boys; Children; Summer
Places: Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated to the 1890s, this is an advertisement for G. W. Kumler's store, located at the corner of Main and Market Streets in Basil, Ohio, which is now part of the village of Baltimore, Ohio. The store sold clothing, shoes, dry goods, hardware, and carpets. In addition to operating this general merchandise store for 37 years, George W. Kumler (1845-1916) is credited as being principal of Basil's first independent school from 1871-1875, and serving as township clerk, township treasurer, and district school director. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS1837
Subjects: Advertisements; Ohio Economy--Economy--Business; Clothing and dress; Dress accessories; Shoes
Places: Basil (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photograph of the Fairfield County Children’s Home in Lancaster, Ohio. The home was established in 1883, and it operated until 1982. During the winter of 1971, four teenagers ran away from the home and perished in a barn fire Jan. 9, 1971. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_051_001
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio). Children's Home; Fairfield County (Ohio)--Pictorial works
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Rising Rock at Mount Pleasant in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio. The photograph was taken ca. 1940-1949. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00340
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Parks
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Boys' Industrial School, located in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio. The photograph was taken ca. 1940-1049. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00342
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio); Ohio Economy--Architecture and Engineering
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Program for a Shaker concert given at E. Meyers Hall in Fairfield County, Ohio, on October 20, 1848. The performers were from the Society of Shakers in New Gloucester, Maine. The program included lectures, singing and dancing, as well as appearances by Miss L.A. Palmer, Mr. William Palmer, and Mr. J. Adams. The Shakers were a religious group that originated in Great Britain around 1750, and who believed in celibacy, community, equality of the sexes, simplicity, and humility. They were originally known as "Shaking Quakers" because they commonly trembled in religious fervor during their services. Shakers arrived in America during the 1770s, and reached Ohio in 1805. They established several communities in the state, with the most successful ones at Lebanon and North Union (modern-day Shaker Heights). By 1846, more than four hundred Shakers called Lebanon home. The Shakers established typical communities in Ohio, making productive livings from their orchards, livestock, and other farming activities, as well as from their furniture-making endeavors. By 1900, Ohio's Shakers had virtually disappeared, mainly due to the lack of new converts. As their numbers declined, many Ohio Shakers moved to Shaker communities in other states. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02700
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio); Multicultural Ohio--Religion in Ohio; Dance--Religious aspects--Shakers; Concerts--United States--History--19th century
Places: Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Portrait of General William Tecumseh Sherman from Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio. Sherman, who rose in rank during the Civil War, was promoted to full general and commander of the United States Army by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1869. He held this post until his retirement in 1883 and passed away in 1891. This portrait was produced as a memorial to General Sherman after his death. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00543
Subjects: Fairfield County (Ohio); Ohio History--Military Ohio; Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Military officers
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio); New York (New York)
 

Description: This image is a reproduction of a photograph depicting a view of the Ohio and Erie Canal at Millersport, Ohio, ca. 1900. At the right edge of the image people can be seen walking on the canal towpath. 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: AL06108
Subjects: Ohio and Erie Canal (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio); Canals--Ohio--History--19th century; Transportation--Ohio--History;
Places: Millersport (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)