Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows a view of the Miami and Erie Canal in Dayton, Ohio. On the left is a truck labeled John R. Kershner Public Works Contractor and the building above reads The Howe [or Lowe] Brothers Co. Work began on the Miami and Erie Canal in 1825 and was completed in 1845. During the peak of construction, more than four thousand laborers worked on the canal, generally earning 30 cents per day plus room and board. Many recent immigrants to the United States, especially the Irish, survived thanks to jobs on the canals. Other people, like the residents of the communal society at Zoar, also helped construct canals to assist the survival of their community. Many of Ohio’s communities today, including Akron, began as towns for the canal workers. Most canals remained in operation in Ohio until late 1800s. There is a short stretch in the Muskingum Valley near Zanesville still in operation today. By the 1850s, however, canals were losing business to the railroads. 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_B09F08_033_1
Subjects: Canals--Ohio; Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio); Geography and Natural Resources; Transportation--Ohio
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: During the 1930's the Miami Conservancy District set aside areas above and below the Germantown Dam, for public use. The C.C.C. and the W.P.A. built shelters, biking trails, and graded roads. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F09_029_1
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Parks--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Outhouses; United States. Works Progress Administration; Miami Conservancy District
Places: Germantown (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: The photograph shows an unknown abandoned coal mine entrance in 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_B07F12_027_1
Subjects: Abandoned buildings--Pictorial works; Coal mines and mining--Ohio; Coal miners; Geography and Natural Resources; Industries--Ohio; Works Progress Administration of Ohio; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This photograph shows the Miami and Erie Canal near Dayton, Ohio, in 1911. A canal boat in disrepair sinks into the water. The Miami and Erie Canal connected the Ohio River in Cincinnati and Lake Erie in Toledo and was completed in 1845. The photograph's original caption reads "This is a picture of an abandoned Canal Boat, back of the Fairgrounds, Montgomery County, 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_B02F05_007
Subjects: Canals; Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio); Transportation--Ohio; Boats; Geography and Natural Resources
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Greenville was founded in 1793, General Anthony Wayne built his fort, Fort Greene Ville, to gain control over the Northwest Territory. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F07_025_1
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Parks--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Stadiums
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Taylorsville Dam, an earthen embankment located across the Great Miami River in northeastern Montgomery County near the City of Vandalia. U.S. 40 goes across the top of the dam. The dam was built to temporarily store floodwater and has no gates or permanent pool. It is 2,980 feet long and 67 feet high. There are four concrete conduits through the base of the embankment near the east abutment. The conduits are sized to discharge a peak flow during an Official Plan Flood that can be handled by the flood protection levees and channels downstream. The remainder of the floodwaters are temporarily stored behind the dam and released over time. An emergency spillway is located directly above the conduits in the same structure. Its construction was the result of a vigorous movement for flood protection that followed the devastation of the 1913 flood. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F09_044_1
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Dams; Rivers
Places: Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows the Ohio River Trail at Alms Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Hamilton County. The Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park is located at 710 Tusculum Avenue on Mount Tusculum, in Cincinnati, Ohio, overlooking the Ohio River. The park was given to the Park Board by Frederick Alms' wife in 1916. Alms was born in Cincinnati on February 26, 1839 and died July 25, 1898. A former solider and successful businessman, Alms is best remembered as an extraordinarily generous philanthropist. He married Eleanora C. Unzicker on November 9, 1870. 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_B04F01_026_01
Subjects: Cincinnati (Ohio); Parks; Alms, Fred H.; Geography and Natural Resources; Hiking trails; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This appears to be the south end of Mirror Lake at Eden Park. Located between Gilbert Avenue and Columbia Parkway (U.S.) and comprised of about 185 acres in the Mount Adams community of Cincinnati, Ohio, Eden Park was assembled by a series of purchases beginning in 1859. The name came, naturally, from the Garden of Eden and was given by Nicholas Longworth who owned a large tract which constitutes the main portion of the park. Eden Park is the home of the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Art Academy, the Navigation Monument, the Capitoline Wolf Statue, and the Irwin M. Krohn (Eden Park) Conservatory. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F06_020_001
Subjects: Parks--Ohio--Cincinnati; Parks--Cincinnati (Ohio); Lakes; Landscapes; Geography and Natural Resources; Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works;
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows two boys sitting by a pond, with a note on the reverse which reads "People at work or play." 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_B10F08_015_001
Subjects: Ponds; Trees; Boys; Parks Ohio; Geography and Natural Resources; Nature
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This photo shows the state of the Miami and Erie canal in the 1930s. The remnants of this lock indicate it is certainly no longer used at this point in time. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F05_015
Subjects: Montgomery County (Ohio)--History; Locks (Canal); Canals--Ohio; Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio)--History; Geography and Natural Resources; Transportation--Ohio--History.; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photograph of a lock on the Ohio-Erie Canal in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. During the late 1810s, Governor Thomas Worthington and Governor Ethan Allen Brown both supported internal improvements, especially 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. In 1822, the Ohio legislature realized the importance of internal improvements and created a new Ohio Canal Commission. The Canal Commission eventually recommended a route starting at Lake Erie, passing through the Cuyahoga Valley, the Muskingum Valley, the Licking Valley, and then to the Ohio River along the Scioto Valley. The Commission also recommended a western route along the Miami and Maumee Valleys. By 1833, the Ohio and Erie Canal was complete, followed twelve years later by the Miami and Erie Canal. Once completed, thirty-three of Ohio's eighty-eight counties either had portions of canals running through them or quarries to mine rock for construction. The canals had many advantages to Ohioans. Most importantly, the cost to ship goods from the East Coast to Ohio and vice versa declined tremendously from 125 dollars per ton of goods to twenty-five dollars per ton of goods. Most canals remained in operation in Ohio until the late 1800s, their demise due in part to competition from the much speedier railroads. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B14F03_020_001
Subjects: Tuscarawas County (Ohio)--History; Locks (Canal); Canals--Ohio; Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio)--History; Geography and Natural Resources; Transportation--Ohio--History;
Places: Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated to the 1930s or 1940s, this photograph shows the Bolivar Dam intake, located on the Sandy Creek of the Tuscarawas River. Originally completed in 1938, the dam manages flood control in the Muskingum Watershed area. The intake structure consists of a brick superstructure and a reinforced concrete substructure. Within the structure are six caterpillar gates (7 feet wide by 15 feet tall). The invert of each gate opening has an elevation of 895 feet. 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_B14F03_021_001
Subjects: Dams; Geography and Natural Resources; Tuscarawas County (Ohio)--History; Flood control; Ohio--History--Pictorial works
Places: Tuscarawas County (Ohio); Stark County (Ohio)