Description: Scene depicting an Early Woodland/Adena (2800-2000 B.P.) gathering at a ceremonial earthwork in the Hocking River Valley. The Adena people of this period constructed circular earthen enclosures which were used as sites for ceremonies and social events. A hunter can be seen holding spears and an atlatl as he oversees the ceremony taking place, with Adena men and women performing a ritual using wolf skins. In the distance can be seen the encampment which would be constructed for use during ceremonial periods until participants returned to their home settlements in the region. The large enclosure seen here is modeled on similar earthworks along the Hocking River in Athens County, Ohio. This painting comes from the "Ancient Ohio" art series, a series of six artworks showing the major archaeological periods from Ohio history. Each painting in the series is based on extensive research and consultation with experts and American Indian scholars. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05217
Subjects: Adena Culture (800 B.C.–A.D. 100); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indian history and society; Earthworks (Art)--United States
Places: Hocking River Valley; Ohio
 

Description: This color photograph shows a group of onlookers gathering to watch a vintage train belonging to the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway in Nelsonville, Ohio, 1976. The train travels from Nelsonville to Logan and back. Along the way passengers view the historic, scenic Hocking River Valley; an historic company town, Haydenville; the Hocking Canal; and brick kilns of Nelsonville Brick Company. The image was submitted in the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest. In August 1976, the Ohio American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Committee (OARBAC) began the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest as part of a larger effort in Ohio to celebrate the 1976 American Bicentennial. The contest was meant to document "the spirit and character of the people and places which represent Ohio during [the] bicentennial year," and to create a permanent photographic archive of the year's festivity for use by future researchers. Both professional and amateur photographers submitted over 500 photographs for consideration, all taken within the state between January 1 and December 31, 1976. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07006
Subjects: American Revolution Bicentennial (1976); Railroads; Hocking Valley Railway; Trains; Tourists
Places: Nelsonville (Ohio); Athens County (Ohio)
 

Description: This 1967 photograph shows the remnants of Lock #19 of the Hocking Canal, located north of Nelsonville, Ohio, near U.S. Route 33. The Hocking Canal, built between 1829 and 1843, was a 56-mile-long canal that linked to the Ohio and Erie Canal at Carroll, Ohio. Stretching from Carroll to Athens, the Hocking Canal stimulated the growth of Lancaster, Logan, and Nelsonville, and opened the Hocking Valley to trade. Its major exports were salt, coal, and iron. Imports included goods from the East, such as cloth, shoes, and dishes. The advent of railroads in the 1850s meant the beginning of the end for canals. The Hocking Canal was abandoned in 1894. The nineteenth lock on the Hocking Canal was known as the "Sheep Pen Lock. Built as a guard lock, it was intended to permit slackwater navigation of the Hocking River by regulating water depths where river and canal met. Those plans were later abandoned, and the mechanism was converted to a lift lock, which raised and lowered boats as required by changes in the canal's elevation. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06112
Subjects: Hocking Canal (Ohio); Canals--Ohio--History--19th century; Transportation--Ohio--History; Nelsonville (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio); Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Nelsonville (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio)