Description: William Welker was a civil engineer and surveyor who worked on numerous projects in the Mahoning Valley, including the construction of a dam at Lake Meander (southwest of Youngstown) in 1918. Lake Meander serves as the city's water supply. These five 3" by 4" (7.6 by 10.16 cm) photographs depict the surveying and construction of the dam, circa 1918. Individuals included in the images are W. C. Welker (left), Mrs. Lewis, D. E. Cherchill, and I. M. Lewis. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1624_1922446_001
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Construction; Dams; Hydraulic facilities; Surveying; Surveying equipment
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This Vernier surveyor's compass which measures 14" by 7" (36 by 18 cm) was used by Joel Wright to plat the city of Columbus prior to its founding in 1812. The typical 19th-century brass and wooden compass was made in Winchester, Virginia. Joel Wright (1750-1829) was a Quaker born in Menallen, Pennsylvania, who first came to Ohio in 1788 as part of a team to survey the Northwest Territory. He surveyed the Muskingum, Scioto, and Great Miami valleys, and eventually settled in Ohio in 1806 in an area near present-day Waynesville. While a resident of Ohio, Wright platted the towns of Columbus, Dayton, and Springboro, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky. He was also the first surveyor of Warren County. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1487_1535360_001
Subjects: Land settlement--Ohio; Geography and Natural Resources; Surveying; Surveying equipment
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Gen. Simon Perkins (1771-1844) played an active part in the War of 1812, including defending the northwestern portion of Ohio from native and British attack following William Hull's surrender. From 1826 to 1833, he participated in the Ohio Board of Canal Commissioners. His principal job on the board was to raise funds for canal building by selling state bonds. He also helped survey the city of Akron in 1825. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04026
Subjects: Canals--Ohio; Surveying; Ohio--History--War of 1812; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Map showing Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, in 1923. The corporation of Columbus is delineated by a thick black line. The map also shows property ownership for Columbus and the surrounding county. Columbus was first laid out in 1812 and incorporated in 1816. Columbus was not the original capital, but the state legislature chose to move the state government there after its location for a short time at both Chillicothe and Zanesville. Columbus was chosen as the site for the new capital because of its central location within the state and access by way of major transportation routes (primarily rivers) at that time. By 1923, Columbus had a population of around 240,000, while Franklin County as a whole had approximately 283,000 citizens. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAPVFM_0074F
Subjects: Columbus (Ohio)--History--20th century; Maps; Cities and towns--Ohio; Surveying;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Map of Union County, Ohio, from surveys by Andrew S. Mowry, published in 1870 by F.W. Beers & Co. of New York. This map shows land ownership within the county, and includes a table of distances and population chart for Union County in 1870. It also includes a view of the Courthouse in Marysville, Ohio, as well as insets of Irwin Station, Watkins, Pleasant Valley, Richwood, Marysville, Milford, Newton, Raymonds P.O., Essex, New California, Frankfort, Pharisburg, Broadway, New Dover, York Centre, Pottersburg P.O., Somersville and Unionville. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAPVFM347_2_01_Union_Co
Subjects: Maps--Ohio; Surveying; Union County (Ohio);
Places: Union County (Ohio)
 

Description: John Locke (1792-1856), a geologist and inventor, was among the first in the nation to advocate soil conservation. As a geologist, he participated in government-backed surveys of the Old Northwest, and in the survey of Ohio completed in the mid-1830s. In 1823, Locke opened a School for Young Ladies in Cincinnati, Ohio, and five years later, he also helped establish the Ohio Mechanics Institute. He also worked as a professor of chemistry at the Medical College of Ohioand published textbooks on English grammar for children and on botany. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04136
Subjects: Geology--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Agriculture; Surveying; Educators; Schools--Ohio
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio);
 

Description: Map drawn ca. 1785 by Manasseh Cutler (1742-1823) entitled "A map of the Federal Territory from the Western Boundary of Pennsylvania to the Scioto River laid down from the latest Informations and divided into Townships and fractional parts of Townships agreeably to the Ordinance of the Hon[orab]le Congress passed in May 1785." Visible on the map is an inset of a plan for the city of Marietta, Ohio, which would be founded in April of 1788. This map was originally offered for sale with an accompanying pamphlet in 1788 to encourage immigrants to purchase lands from the Ohio Company in the newly-settled Northwest Territory. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAPVFM_0003_2
Subjects: Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Northwest Territory--History; Maps--Ohio; Surveying;
Places: Northwest Territory; Ohio;
 

Description: A map of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania created ca. 1766 by Thomas Hutchins. The official title of the map is "A Map of the Country on the Ohio & Muskingum Rivers Showing the Situation of the Indian Towns with Respect to the Army Under the Command of Colonel Bouquet." One of the oldest drawings of the Ohio country, Thomas Hutchins rendered the top portion based on an earlier map he drew after he toured the area in 1762. Two years later, Hutchins drew the bottom portion while traveling with Colonel Henry Bouquet on an expedition from Fort Pitt into the Ohio country. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04652
Subjects: Maps -- Pennsylvania; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Surveying
Places: Ohio
 

Description: James Geddes (1763-1838) was a self-trained engineer and surveyor. In 1822, the Ohio Canal Commission hired Geddes to survey possible canal routes in the state. His routes eventually became the routes of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal. He also helped plot the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The engraving comes from Henry Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio," 1909. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03970
Subjects: Canals--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development; Surveying