Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows an aerial view of a hiking trail near Cantwell Cliffs at Hocking Hills State Park in Logan, Ohio. A note on its reverse reads "Foot trail, Cantwell Cliffs Park, Hocking State Forest." Cantwell Cliffs, one of the six major features of Hocking Hills State Park, is known for its rock formations including deep valleys, cliffs, and rock shelters. In 1924, the state of Ohio purchased 146 acres in the Hocking Hills that became Hocking Hills State Park in 1949. In 1972, the park added a dining lodge and cabins. Hocking Hills State Park is known for its geologic features of blackhand sandstone, including Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, and Rock House. 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_B07F04_002_1
Subjects: Hocking Hills State Park (Ohio); State parks and reserves; Hiking; Outdoor recreation
Places: Hocking State Forest (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio)
 

Description: Rock House, Hocking Hills State Park and Forest, Hocking County, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00301
Subjects: Hocking County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio
Places: Hocking Hills (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio)
 

Description: Handwritten on reverse: "Smoke Scene" and possibly "Mine Fire" This photograph shows smoke wafting from several different places in a forested area. This is most likely the New Straitsville Mine Fire. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1, 000, 000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F02_013_001
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a man and woman waving from the rock shelter. A caption on the back of this photograph reads: "Rockhouse Park, Hocking State Forest." Rock House, the only true cave in the Hocking Hills region, is a tunnel-like corridor situated on the side of a 150-foot Blackhand sandstone cliff. Small recesses in the rear of the cave are believed to have been used by American Indians as baking ovens. According to local folklore, the cave was also used as a hideout by robbers, horse thieves, and bootleggers, earning it the name Robbers' Roost. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F04_003_1
Subjects: Hocking Hills State Park (Ohio); State parks and reserves; Geology; Natural features; Outdoor recreation; Hiking
Places: Hocking Hills State Park (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Shawnee Lookout Tower in 1939 to protect the Wayne National Forest from fire. It was used for fire protection until the 1970s. The 100-foot-tall steel tower was restored in the 1990s and is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register. The photograph is 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm). The Wayne National Forest has three parts spread across twelve southeastern counties. The centers of each district are in Athens, Ironton, and Marietta. It is the only national forest in Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3020_3636490_001
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Towers; Watch towers; Fire prevention; Forest reserves
Places: Murray City (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio); New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: A forest ranger in Wayne National Forest completes a form while wearing a pair of headphones in the Shawnee Lookout Tower. A caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: "Fire Fighting Station (Tower)," while an accompanying caption describes the image as "Shawnee Tower forest ranger. Near Haydenville." The form being completed gives the date as Saturday, April 23, 1938, and is signed D. B. Blankenship. The Shawnee Lookout Tower was one of four lookout towers built in the Wayne National Forest area during the 1930s. This particular tower was built in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and was located off Sand Run--New Straitsville Road near New Straitsville in Hocking County. It is the only one of the four that remains standing. In the earlier part of the 2000s the tower was open to the public, but it was closed in 2004 due to wind damage. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F04_020_1
Subjects: Wayne National Forest; Forests; Geography and Natural Resources; Parks; Fire prevention
Places: Shawnee Tower; Wayne National Forest; Hocking County (Ohio); Nelsonville (Ohio);
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Dangerous gases threaten, water steams in the cistern, vegetables roast in the garden, huge craters suddenly appear, smoke billows over their head --- but life goes on for the Rush family living on top the New Straitville Mine Fire in the Plummer Hill area. Mrs. Kenneth Rush is shown here about her daily task of feeding the chickens. The smoke can be seen in the background. Her husband and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Rush also live there. They have had to flee from home several times when the "black damp" gas became unusually bad but they've always come back. Mr. and Mrs. David Rush have lived there for 22 years. Up to a few years ago, they had a flourishing garden and a few acres of corn, but they have been destroyed by the fire." The New Straitsville mine fires are believed to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered, and by that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938, the coal destroyed (more than two hundred square miles) was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F07_018_001
Subjects: Mine fires--Ohio; New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: Ohio
 

Description: A forest ranger in Wayne National Forest completes a form while wearing a pair of headphones in the Shawnee Lookout Tower. A caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: "Fire Fighting Station (Tower)." The form being completed gives the date as Saturday, April 23, 1938, and is signed D. B. Blankenship. The Shawnee Lookout Tower was one of four lookout towers built in the Wayne National Forest area during the 1930s. This particular tower was built in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and was located off Sand Run--New Straitsville Road near New Straitsville in Hocking County. It is the only one of the four that remains standing. In the earlier part of the 2000s the tower was open to the public, but it was closed in 2004 due to wind damage. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F04_024_1
Subjects: Wayne National Forest; Forests; Geography and Natural Resources; Parks; Fire prevention
Places: Shawnee Tower; Wayne National Forest; Hocking County (Ohio); Nelsonville (Ohio);
 

Description: A forest ranger in Wayne National Forest completes a form while wearing a pair of headphones in the Shawnee Lookout Tower. A caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: "Shawnee Tower forest ranger. Near Haydenville." The form being completed gives the date as Saturday, April 23, 1938, and is signed D. B. Blankenship. The Shawnee Lookout Tower was one of four lookout towers built in the Wayne National Forest area during the 1930s. This particular tower was built in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and was located off Sand Run--New Straitsville Road near New Straitsville in Hocking County. It is the only one of the four that remains standing. In the earlier part of the 2000s the tower was open to the public, but it was closed in 2004 due to wind damage. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F04_021_1
Subjects: Wayne National Forest; Forests; Geography and Natural Resources; Parks; Fire prevention
Places: Shawnee Tower; Wayne National Forest; Hocking County (Ohio); Nelsonville (Ohio);