Description: This postcard documents the Mercer County jail in Celina, Ohio. Built in 1875 near the county courthouse, the jail also included a sheriff's residence. In 1939 the building was razed and a new jail was built. The postcard measures 3.5" x 5" (8.89 x 12.7 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3129_3832141_004
Subjects: Ohio Government; Architecture; Jails; Houses
Places: Celina (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reconstructed block houses and stockade on the site of Fort Recovery, Mercer County, Ohio. The stockade was reconstructed in 1955 and 1956. The original fort was built in 1793-1794 by soldiers under the command of General Anthony Wayne on the site where soldiers under General Arthur St. Clair's command were defeated by a confederacy of American tribes under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle). Wayne's forces succeeded in defending the fort and bringing an end to military conflict between the American Indian tribes and European settlers in the territory that became the state of Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01008
Subjects: Mercer County (Ohio); Ohio History--Military Ohio
Places: Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: Fort Recovery, built in 1793-1794, was the site of Major General Arthur St. Clair's defeat by a large alliance of American Indians under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle). Fort Recovery is in Mercer County, Ohio. The photograph was taken ca. 1940-1949. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00380
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; Mercer County (Ohio); Ohio History--Military Ohio
Places: Fort Recovery (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Mercer County Courthouse was completed in 1923 by architect Peter M. Hulsken of Lima, Ohio. It represents Neoclassical architecture, has a stained-glass dome and feature figures from Greek mythology in a frieze that border the top floor of the rotunda. This building replaced one that had become too small and lacked modern conveniences such as electricity, telephones, heating and means of sanitation. This image shows the building's cornerstone. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F05_327
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; columns (architectural elements); Neoclassical
Places: Celina (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio); 101 N. Main St.
 

Description: The Mercer County Courthouse was completed in 1923 by architect Peter M. Hulsken of Lima, Ohio. It represents Neoclassical architecture, has a stained-glass dome and feature figures from Greek mythology in a frieze that border the top floor of the rotunda. This building replaced one that had become too small and lacked modern conveniences such as electricity, telephones, heating and means of sanitation. This image shows the building's front and side facades. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F05_326
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; columns (architectural elements); Neoclassical
Places: Celina (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio); 101 N. Main St.
 

Description: The Mercer County Courthouse was completed in 1923 by architect Peter M. Hulsken of Lima, Ohio. It represents Neoclassical architecture, has a stained-glass dome and feature figures from Greek mythology in a frieze that border the top floor of the rotunda. This building replaced one that had become too small and lacked modern conveniences such as electricity, telephones, heating and means of sanitation. This image shows the building's rotunda. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F05_328
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; columns (architectural elements); Neoclassical
Places: Celina (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio); 101 N. Main St.
 

Description: Monument on the site of Fort Recovery in Mercer County, Ohio, ca. 1955-1970. The monument was built in 1913. The fort was built in 1793-1794 by soldiers under the command of General Anthony Wayne on the site where soldiers under General Arthur St. Clair's command were defeated by a confederacy American Indian tribes. Wayne's forces succeeded in defending the fort and bringing an end to military conflict between the region's American Indian tribes and settlers in the territory that became the state of Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01007
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; Monuments; Other--Ohio Historical Society
Places: Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: This broadside, printed in 1791, commemorates the Columbian Tragedy, a reference to the Battle of the Wabash, also known as "St. Clair's Defeat." The battle occurred on November 4, 1791, near several Miami villages along the Wabash River in what is now Mercer County, Ohio. At daybreak that morning, a large alliance of American Indians, led by Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), surprised and overwhelmed an American army of about 1,600 men under Major General Arthur St. Clair, wounding or killing over half of the unprepared troops. The conflict is known as the greatest Indian victory over American military forces in the nation's history. 39 officers, whose names are listed on this broadside, were killed, along with over 900 soldiers. Also included on the broadside are engravings of Major General Richard Butler, who was killed in the battle, and a scene titled "Bloody Indian Battle Fought at Miami Village, Nov. 4, 1791," as well as a lengthy funeral elegy.. The location of the Columbian Tragedy is now the site of Fort Recovery State Memorial and the village of Fort Recovery. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS2500
Subjects: American Indians--Warfare; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Battlefields; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Little Turtle, 1747?-1812
Places: Fort Recovery (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph from the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus is of 17-year-old Louis Vernon Hand, a farm hand from Mercer County. His formal attire suggests that the photograph was taken during his trial or sentencing. Hand was convicted of murdering seven-year-old Richard Stover with a hammer in Rockford, Ohio. The caption at the bottom reads: “No. 239 Louis Vernon Hand of Mercer County, Legally Electrocuted January 14th, 1944, for the Murder of Richard Stover.” Some records list Richard's last name as Stober. In 1885 the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, became the location for all executions, which previously took place in the various county seats. In 1896 the Ohio General Assembly mandated that electrocution replace hanging as the form of capital punishment. The Ohio Penitentiary regularly offered tours as well as souvenir photographs and postcards of the building and prisoners on death row. A total of 315 prisoners, both men and women, were executed in the electric chair known as “Old Sparky” between 1897 and 1963. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08293
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Death row; Electrocution; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio); Prisons--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Rockford (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: Two photographs document the reconstructed Fort Recovery in Mercer County. Fort Recovery was built on the site of General Arthur St. Clair's defeat in 1791. General "Mad" Anthony Wayne ordered the fort to be constructed in December 1793 to use as a staging area for his campaign against the regions American Indians who were defending their lands against encroaching white settlement. In spring 1794, a group made up of members of the Shawnee, Delaware, Ottawa, Miami, and Ojibwe Tribes attacked a supply wagon near the fort. Wayne's troops defeated the American Indians, setting the stage for a final victory against three months later at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3102_3737108_002
Subjects: Military Ohio; American Indians in Ohio; Forts & fortifications
Places: Fort Recovery (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph of Fort Recovery Monument in Mercer County was taken in the 1960s. Fort Recovery Monument was dedicated on July 1, 1913, in honor of the soldiers who perished in the two battles at the site. President William Howard Taft signed the bill to create the monument in 1908. The Ohio Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) reconstructed two blockhouses with a connecting stockade on the site, which it operates along with the monument and museum. The photograph measures 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm). Fort Recovery was built on the site of General Arthur St. Clair's defeat in 1791. General "Mad" Anthony Wayne ordered the fort to be constructed in December 1793 to use as a staging area for his campaign against the region's American Indians, who were defending their lands against encroaching white settlement. In spring 1794, a group made up of members of the Shawnee, Delaware, Ottawa, Miami, and Ojibwe Tribes attacked a supply wagon near the fort. Wayne's troops defeated the American Indians, setting the stage for a final victory against three months later at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3102_3737118_001
Subjects: Military Ohio; American Indians in Ohio; Arts and Entertainment; Monuments & memorials
Places: Fort Recovery (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: Northwood lighthouse, shown in this photograph, is located on the north shore of the Grand Lake St. Marys between St. Marys and Celina. The lighthouse was built in 1923 and is currently inactive. The photograph measures 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm). Grand Lake St. Marys was the largest man-made lake in the world when it was built in 1845. The 13,500-acre lake was built to feed water into the Miami-Erie Canal when water levels fell below five feet. The lake took seven years to build and includes fifty miles of shoreline. It became a state park in 1949. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3180_4412105_001
Subjects: Transportation; Geography and Natural Resources; Lakes & ponds; Lighthouses
Places: St. Marys (Ohio); Auglaize County (Ohio); Celina (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)