Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows two men shoveling coal into minecarts at the Blue Bell Mine near Strasburg, Ohio, in Tuscarawas County. A note on the reverse of the photograph reads "Close up surface coal mining. Blue Bell mine near Strasburg. S. H. Green. West High Ave., New Phila, N.K." The first European settlers recognized the value in Ohio's natural coal resources and in 1837 the first Geological Survey of Ohio studied the mineral resources of the state, especially coal. Ohio's canal system allowed for easy coal transportation for mining, and by the mid 1800s railroads and more advanced mining technologies advanced coal mining output in Ohio. Eventually, coal became the primary source of energy for electricity and fueled the many steel mills in the upper Ohio River Valley. 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_B08F02_030_001
Subjects: Coal mines and mining--Ohio; Coal miners; Charcoal industry--Ohio; Blue Bell Mining Company; Photography--Ohio
Places: Strasburg (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: The pictured reproduction of a map illustrates charcoal furnaces once located in the Hanging Rock Iron Region of southeastern Ohio and the bordering region of Kentucky. While iron production originated in the northeastern corner of Ohio during the first half of the nineteenth century, southern Ohioans soon dominated the industry. The most productive area was centered near Hanging Rock, along the Ohio River. By 1860, southern Ohioans had established sixty-nine iron furnaces, producing more than 100,000 tons of iron annually, across Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Scioto, and Vinton Counties. The manufacturers sent much of the iron up and down the Ohio River to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, allowing southern Ohioans to prosper. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01193
Subjects: Iron industry; Maps--Ohio; Hanging Rock Iron Region (Ohio)--History; Charcoal industry--United States
Places: Ross County (Ohio); Pike County (Ohio); Scioto County (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio); Vinton County (Ohio); Jackson County (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio); Athens County (Ohio); Meigs County (Ohio); Gallia County (Ohio);
 

Description: This image is a reproduction of a photograph depicting the house occupied by the manager of Buckhorn Furnace in Lawrence County, Ohio. The original photograph was taken between 1865 and 1877. Wilbur Stout, former chemist at the Columbus Iron and Steel Company and Ohio's state geologist, researched and collected photographs of blast furnaces in Ohio. He received this photograph from Fred G. Leete of Ironton, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01196
Subjects: Iron industry; Hanging Rock Iron Region (Ohio)--History; Charcoal industry--United States
Places: Lawrence County (Ohio)