Description: Broadside advertising a lecture on James J. Andrews' railroad raid, held by the Jackson Township Teachers Lecture Course at Township Hall in Lafayette, Ohio, December 20. The lecture (one of a series) was by W.J. Knight, who ran the engine during the raid. The broadside notes that the lecture was "Thoroughly illustratd (sic) by numerous Large Size Oil Paintings." These paintings include a panorama of seventeen scenes painted on canvas or muslin panels, by artist A. Ruger. These panels were stitched together and cranked past a square stage window while Knight spoke to illustrate the raid. Andrews' Raid, also known as the "Great Locomotive Chase," occurred in 1862 when Secret Service Agent James J. Andrews led volunteer Union soldiers (mostly Ohioans) on a mission to steal a Confederate locomotive and drive from the south to the north, destroying the rail lines along the way. The mission failed shortly after it began and several of the captured men were hung while others were later exchanged and some escaped. William J. Knight was a private in the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E, who participated in the raid. He escaped and in 1878 began touring and giving lectures describing the raid. Ruger's panorama accompanied him for more than eighteen years, and is now part of the museum collections of the Ohio Historical Society. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: VFM5898
Subjects: Chattanooga Railroad Expedition, 1862; Ohio--History, Military--19th century; Andrews' Raid, 1862; Ruger, A.; Andrews, James J.
Places: Jackson Township (Ohio); Pickaway County (Ohio);
 

Description: Original description reads: "Swartzel Curiosity Farm." A direct descendant of original settlers in Jackson Township, Winter Zellar (Zero) Swartsel was born in 1876. Throughout his life he was a natural born showman, teacher, eccentric, anarchist, and “possibly the grandfather of American Pop Culture.” At a young age and tired of the routines of Farmersville, he declared that, "He would live by his wits while his brothers lived by the sweat of their brows.” He and a friend bicycled first to New York City and then turned around to head west and eventually the world. Later his home would overflow with items collected while traveling the world. Outside was a similar story. While chiding the American people for their wastefulness and abusing their environment, his 22 acres of farmland became his artist's canvas filled with the thousands of items he collected from the “wasteful.” View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F08_011_1
Subjects: Outdoor art; Eccentrics and eccentricities
Places: Farmersville (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Forest of glass on Swartsel Farm." A direct descendant of original settlers in Jackson Township, Winter Zellar (Zero) Swartsel was born in 1876. Throughout his life he was a natural born showman, teacher, eccentric, anarchist, and “possibly the grandfather of American Pop Culture.” At a young age and tired of the routines of Farmersville, he declared that, “He would live by his wits while his brothers lived by the sweat of their brows.” He and a friend bicycled first to New York City and then turned around to head west and eventually the world. Later his home would overflow with items collected while traveling the world. Outside was a similar story. While chiding the American people for their wastefulness and abusing their environment, his 22 acres of farmland became his artist's canvas filled with the thousands of items he collected from the “wasteful.” View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F08_038_1
Subjects: Outdoor art; Farms--Ohio; Eccentrics and eccentricities
Places: Farmersville (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Swartzel Curiosity Farm." A direct descendant of original settlers in Jackson Township, Winter Zellar (Zero) Swartsel was born in 1876. Throughout his life he was a natural born showman, teacher, eccentric, anarchist, and “possibly the grandfather of American Pop Culture.” At a young age and tired of the routines of Farmersville, he declared that, "He would live by his wits while his brothers lived by the sweat of their brows.” He and a friend bicycled first to New York City and then turned around to head west and eventually the world. Later his home would overflow with items collected while traveling the world. Outside was a similar story. While chiding the American people for their wastefulness and abusing their environment, his 22 acres of farmland became his artist's canvas filled with the thousands of items he collected from the “wasteful.” View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F08_019_1
Subjects: Eccentrics and eccentricities; Tourism--Ohio
Places: Farmersville (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)