Description: Samuel Butler (1794-1881) was an Underground Railroad operator at Fairport in Lake County, Ohio. This photograph was sent to Wilbur H. Siebert by Henry Butler, Samuel's son, for his research on the Underground Railroad. Siebert (1866-1961) began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03152
Subjects: Underground Railroad--Ohio; Fairport Harbor (Ohio); Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Fairport (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse is located on Lake Erie near the end of the west breakwater at the mouth of the Grand River. It was built in 1925 to replace the existing lighthouse that was falling into disrepair. In 1917 Congress allowed $42, 000 for construction of the new lighthouse, but because of World War I, the construction was delayed. The lighthouse was constructed of an iron shell that was assembled in Buffalo, New York and transported to Fairport Harbor. The lighthouse construction was completed and the lighthouse was illuminated for the first time on June 9, 1925. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F09_005_1
Subjects: Erie, Lake--History--Pictorial works; Fairport Harbor Marine Museum (Fairport Harbor, Ohio); Lighthouses
Places: Fairport Harbor (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: Old lighthouse at Fairport Harbor, built in 1825, Lake County, Ohio, ca. 1940-1949. Presently, housing the Fairport Harbor Marine Museum. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00363
Subjects: Historical museums--Ohio; Lighthouses
Places: Fairport Harbor (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Code: C25. Class: Rivers, etc. Location: On Lake Erie" Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse is located on Lake Erie near the end of the west breakwater at the mouth of the Grand River. It was built in 1925 to replace the existing lighthouse that was falling into disrepair. In 1917 Congress allowed $42,000 for construction of the new lighthouse, but because of World War I, the construction was delayed. The lighthouse was constructed of an iron shell that was assembled in Buffalo, New York and transported to Fairport Harbor. The lighthouse construction was completed and the lighthouse was illuminated for the first time on June 9, 1925. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_03_01
Subjects: Erie, Lake--History--Pictorial works; Fairport Harbor Marine Museum (Fairport Harbor, Ohio); Lighthouses
Places: Fairport Harbor (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: Built to relieve a dilapidated main lighthouse, the West Breakwater light at Fairport Harbor was completed in 1925. The light's iron shell and other cast-iron sections were fabricated in Buffalo; masonry and interior work for the keeper's quarters were completed on-site. In 2009, deeming the light unnecessary, the U.S. Coast Guard auctioned off the site to Jerome Osborne, a Mentor, Ohio building contractor and lighthouse enthusiast. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_02_01
Subjects: Lighthouses; Lake Erie; Lakes; Landscapes; Geography and Natural Resources; Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works
Places: Fairport Harbor (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: Fugitive slaves left Fairport Harbor to cross Lake Erie into Canada, where they could escape the bonds of slavery. This photograph was taken by W.S. Smith of Painesville, Ohio, in 1891. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03154
Subjects: Underground Railroad--Ohio; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Fairport (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a bridge over the Grand River in northeastern Ohio. The Grand River is a tributary of Lake Erie and initially flows from Trumbull County. It continues through Ashtabula County and then through Lake County, where it ends in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. 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_033
Subjects: Bridges--Ohio; Grand River (Ohio); Transportation--Ohio--History.; Rural Roads; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Fugitive slaves were hidden in the warehouse shown on the left before leaving Ashtabula Harbor to escape across Lake Erie to freedom in Canada. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03153
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century
Places: Fairport (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: This engraved image is portrait of Samuel Huntington (1765-1817), the third governor of Ohio, who served one two-year term from 1808-1810. This profile portrait shows Huntington as a beardless young man with chin-length hair combed back over his collar. His shirtfront has a modest ruffle, and his jacket has a narrow collar. The son of a minister, Samuel Huntington was born in Coventry, Connecticut, on October 4, 1765. He attended Dartmouth and Yale Colleges before studying the law, practicing in Connecticut from 1793 to 1800. In 1800, Huntington traveled to the Northwest Territory, visiting the Connecticut Western Reserve and Marietta. The following year, he moved his family to the fledgling community of Cleveland, which was still located in the midst of the wilderness. In 1807, Huntington traded his land in Cleveland for a tract of land in Painesville Township, co-founding the community of Fairport and developing a number of business interests there. Within a very short time of his move to Ohio, Huntington became active in territorial politics. He served as lieutenant colonel of the Trumbull County militia, supervisor of the roads, and a justice of the peace. Huntington became very involved in the debate over Ohio statehood, siding against Governor Arthur St. Clair's attempts to impede the statehood process. In 1802, he served as a member of the first constitutional convention, allying himself with men such as Thomas Worthington and Edward Tiffin. Once Ohio became a state in 1803, Huntington served as a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court, along with Return J. Meigs, Jr. and William Sprigg. In 1804, Huntington became chief justice of the court. As chief justice, one of his most famous cases was Rutherford v. M'Fadden (1807). Modeling the state's supreme court after the United States Supreme Court, in this ruling Huntington and his fellow justices determined that the court had the right to declare state laws unconstitutional. This decision placed the court at odds with members of the state legislature, who felt that the court was trying to reduce their power to make laws. This decision became an issue in the gubernatorial election of 1808, when Huntington ran against fellow Democratic-Republicans Worthington and Thomas Kirker. His opponents argued in favor of the sovereignty of the state legislature in making laws, while Huntington continued to argue that the Supreme Court had the authority to declare laws unconstitutional. Because Worthington and Kirker divided their supporters' votes, Huntington was able to win the election and became Ohio's third governor, serving from 1808 to 1810. Huntington's term as governor was not without controversy. Although he himself was not targeted, the state legislature tried to impeach two other judges for decisions similar to the Rutherford v. M'Fadden case. These impeachment proceedings were ultimately unsuccessful. The two judges, Calvin Pease and George Tod, maintained their positions by a single vote each. The state capital was moved to Zanesville for a time, and there was continued debate over its permanent location. In addition, there was considerable unease about potential military conflict with Great Britain, which ultimately did occur with the War of 1812. Choosing not to run for reelection as governor in 1810, Huntington instead ran against Worthington for U.S. Senator. He was unsuccessful in this election and returned home after finishing out his term as governor. During the War of 1812, General William Henry Harrison appointed him army paymaster. On June 8, 1817, Huntington was killed in an accident while supervising the construction of a road near his home. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05853
Subjects: Huntington, Samuel, 1765-1817; Governors--Ohio; Ohio. Supreme Court; Ohio History--State and Local Government