Description: This photograph shows the corner of Park Avenue and 2nd Street in Ironton, Ohio, featuring signs for state routes 75 and 141, Jackson 45 miles and Gallipolis 46 miles. Signs in the window of the building on the corner advertise Grimes Realty Co. and Real Estate and Insurance, in addition to a drug store and some type of aluminum product retailer. In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. 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_B15F04_003_012_011
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Stores and shops; Works Progress Administration
Places: Ironton, Ohio; Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. This photograph shows the rising levels of the Ohio River encroaching on Ironton, Ohio, a city of 20,000 inhabitants. Ironton was the home of lucrative iron and cement plants, as well as lumber and mining interests. The photograph centers on the Lawrence County Courthouse, located at 111 South 4th Street. The Ironton-Russell Bridge, a cantilever bridge built in 1922, connects Campbell Avenue of Ironton to Etna Street on the Kentucky side of the river. 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_B08F11_006_1
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows downtown Ironton, Ohio, at 3rd and Center Streets during the 1937 Ohio River flood, also referred to as the Great Flood. Visible business signs include S.S. Kresge Co. 5-10-25 store, Peoples Credit Clothing, and Gallaker Drugs. In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. 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_B15F04_003_012_003
Subjects: Floods; Natural Disasters; Ohio River; Storefronts; Ohio Federal Writers' Project;
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows part of downtown Ironton, Ohio, during the 1937 Ohio River flood, also referred to as the Great Flood. In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. 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 View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F04_003_012_015
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Downtowns; Works Progress Administration
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. This photograph shows Layne's Tailor Shop in Ironton, Ohio, having collapsed before the flood waters receded. 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_B08F11_004_1
Subjects: Storefronts--United States--Pictorial works; Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated 1937, this photograph shows the stoplight at Center and 4th Streets in Ironton, Ohio, during the 1937 Ohio River flood. A note on the photograph reads “'F.W. Woolworth's Co. 5 and 10 cent store' 'Florsheim Shoes' 'Arch Preserver Shoe' 'Klein's Lunch, Soda' Along the right: 'Edelson Clothing'." In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. 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_B15F04_003_012_018
Subjects: Floods; Natural Disasters; Ohio River; Storefronts
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: These photographs of the Vesuvius Iron Furnace near Ironton, Ohio were taken around 1965. Named after the Mt. Vesuvius volcano in Italy, the furnace was built in 1833 to supply iron to steel manufacturers in northern Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the nation. It produced 3,000 tons of pig iron, made from iron ore and limestone, per year. The supply of iron ore diminished by the end of the nineteenth century and the furnace was abandoned. The furnace was one 46 charcoal iron furnaces located in the Hanging Rock Iron Region of southern Ohio. Vesuvius Iron Furnace is located north of Ironton, Ohio in the Wayne National Forest. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The slides measure 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3025_3643547_001
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Furnaces; Iron industry; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: A woman sitting in the backseat of a touring car playing a steam calliope. A calliope, also known as a steam organ, was a musical instrument commonly used on riverboats or in circuses. The woman pictured is likely a daughter of E. E. Eisenbarth, either Ignace, Denalla or Julia. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show," which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and "Indians." He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom's Cabin Company," complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement") were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as "Human Hearts" to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died sometime after, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, "The Castle." He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show," which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company," complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New Great Modern Temple of Amusement")were devoted to bringing Shakespearean plays and other dramas, such as “Human Hearts” to the waterways. Eisenbarth also worked with a traveling company of players, perhaps to remain off the rivers during the winter months. The Temple cleared more money than almost any other boat on the Ohio River, even though it only played four nights a week and never on Sunday. Julia Eisenbarth died sometime after, and E.E. remarried in 1908 to Jennie Salina Brown. In 1909, he presented his last show on a riverboat, “The Castle.” He sold The Temple showboat to the Needham-Steiner Amusement Company that year, and although he made bids on other boats, these proved unsuccessful and The Temple ended up being his last showboat. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07546
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Musical instruments; Automobiles
Places: Ohio River; Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "IRONTON, O. IRONTON HIGH SCHOOL; Ident. - B-10 to Illinois National Picture Book 1/9/41; Location - Ironton, Ohio; Credit - courtesy of Gene Wyatt; Caption - School Lets Out, Ironton High School. This photo must be returned to Ohio Writers' Project, 8 E. Chestnut Street, Col. Ohio." Ironton High School was constructed in 1922 and demolished in 2007. The new school reuses parts of the old school, most notably preserving the arched entrance. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F07_001_001
Subjects: High schools--Ohio; School buildings--Ohio; Students; Lawrence County (Ohio)--History; Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works; Arches; Education; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Bridge over Ohio River between Ironton, Ohio and Russell, Ky. Dedicated and thrown open for traffic April 21, 1922. Built complete in 274 days at cost of $700,000." Erected by the Ironton-Russell Bridge Company, the cantilever Ironton-Russell Bridge was the first highway bridge to cross the Ohio River in the area between the cities of Parkersburg, West Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F18_023_001
Subjects: Bridges--Ohio; Ohio River--History; Roads--Ohio; Bridges--Pictorial works; Transportation--Ohio; Roads--Ohio; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio); Russell (Kentucky)
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. This photograph shows the flooded corner of Park Avenue and 2nd Street in Ironton, Ohio, a city of 20,000 inhabitants. Ironton was the home of lucrative iron and cement plants, as well as lumber and mining interests. President Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. 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 component of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project for which each state had a number of writers hired by the federal government. One of the primary goals of the Federal Writers’ Project was to complete the American 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_B08F11_002_1
Subjects: Storefronts--United States--Pictorial works; Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the Lawrence County Courthouse in Ironton, Ohio, during the 1937 Ohio River flood, also referred to as the Great Flood. In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. 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_B15F04_003_012_009
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Courthouses; Works Progress Administration
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)