Description: Main and High Streets, London, Ohio, Madison County, Ohio, ca. 1886-1888. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00439
Subjects: London (Ohio); Stores and shops
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph is a black-and-white image of a colorful mural titled "New London Facts,” completed in 1941 by artist Lloyd R. Ney (1893-1965). The oil-on-canvas mural, which measures 5 feet high by 14 feet wide, is located in the New London, Ohio, post office. The mural was funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Section of Painting and Sculpture (the "Section"), one of the department’s three visual arts programs instituted during the Great Depression. Established in 1934, the Section commissioned artists to create paintings and sculpture that would decorate new federal buildings. The commissions were awarded competitively. Unlike other cultural programs of the New Deal, the Section’s primary goal was to procure art for public buildings, not to provide work relief. Ney went to New London to learn as much as possible about the town, its history, and residents. Although Ney favored Modernism, he decided to forego a purely nonobjective design in favor of one that incorporated recognizable places, people, and objects as well as abstractions. A boldly outlined center triangle divides the mural into three sections. The individual sections and the overall mural functions as a montage of images. The triangle’s design, which includes an eye, is reminiscent of the Great Seal of the United State. Painter and sculptor Lloyd Raymond (“Bill”) Ney) was born in Friedensburg, Pennsylvania, the only child of Sadie Maidenford and William Ney. As a young child he showed a passion for art but had no formal training until he left high school in 1913 to study in Philadelphia and later in Europe at the end of World War I. While studying abroad, he became acquainted with influential Modernist painters, and his style became progressively more abstract throughout the rest of his life. He left Paris in 1925 and moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania, where he joined a thriving community of modernist artists. In 1939, Ney was awarded a commission from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Section of Painting and Sculpture (the “Section”) to paint a mural for the New London, Ohio, post office. When upper-level Section officials saw Ney’s preliminary sketches for the mural, they were upset by what they termed his “abstract” style and quickly rejected his design. Ney fought hard for his concept and enlisted the help of the New London community, whose outpouring of support convinced the Section to approve Ney’s design in 1940. The mural was completed and installed in the New London post office in 1941. Lloyd Ney died in New Hope, Pennsylvania, in 1965. In 1988 photographer Connie Girard took color and black-and-white images of this mural for an article in "Timeline" magazine (June/July 1989). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04497
Subjects: Ney, Lloyd Raymond, 1893-1965; New London (Ohio); Mural paintings (visual works); Post office buildings--Ohio; United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture; Great Depression and the New Deal
Places: New London (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photographs of inmates getting haircuts at the London Prison Farm, London, Ohio, ca. 1949-1955. Construction of the London Prison Farm began in the early 1920s. At that time the institution was a branch unit of the Ohio Penitentiary. With completion in 1925 of its main building, the London Prison Farm was established as a separate correctional institution. It is now known as the London Correctional Institution View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04482
Subjects: Prisoners; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Correctional institutions--Ohio; Barbershops
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: View of two men standing in a potato field at the London Prison Farm, London, Ohio, 1955. Construction of the London Prison Farm began in the early 1920s. At that time, the institution was a branch unit of the Ohio Penitentiary. With completion in 1925 of its main building, the London Prison Farm was established as a separate correctional institution. It is now known as the London Correctional Institution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04479
Subjects: Prisons; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Farms
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of what appears to be an infirmary at the London Prison Farm that has been decorated for Christmas, London, Ohio, ca. 1949-1955. Construction of the London Prison Farm began in the early 1920s. At that time the institution was a branch unit of the Ohio Penitentiary. With completion in 1925 of its main building, the London Prison Farm was established as a separate correctional institution. It is now known as the London Correctional Institution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04483
Subjects: Prisoners; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Correctional institutions--Ohio; Holidays
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Two inmates identified as Bebic (left) and Johnson (right) engaged in a boxing match at the London Prison Farm in London, Ohio, ca. 1949 - 1955. A note written on the back of the photograph indicates that Johnson won the match. Sports were an important part of the educational and recreational program at the London Prison Farm and their athletic teams were successful. Construction of the London Prison Farm began in the early 1920s. At that time, the institution was a branch unit of the Ohio Penitentiary. With completion in 1925 of its main building, the London Prison Farm was established as a separate correctional institution. It is now known as the London Correctional Institution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04480
Subjects: Sports; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Prisoners; Prisons--Ohio
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated to the 1960s or 1970s, this photograph shows the businesses on the corner of North Oak and West High Streets in London, Ohio, including the Gulf filling station and Hunter Tractor Sales. The red brick building to the right of Hunter Tractor Sales, is the old Madison County Jail. The building on the right edge of the photograph is the Madison County Sheriff's Office. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F04_300
Subjects: Streets--Ohio; Small towns; Jails; Small business--Ohio
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of Roderick B. Eckle, superintendent of the London Prison Farm, at his desk, London, Ohio, 1955. Eckle was appointed superintendent in 1953, a position he held until his death in 1962. Construction of the London Prison Farm began in the early 1920s. At that time, the institution was a branch unit of the Ohio Penitentiary. With completion in 1925 of its main building, the London Prison farm was established as a separate correctional institution. It is now known as the London Correctional Institution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04478
Subjects: Ohio--Officials and employees; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Prisons - Officials and employees
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of prisoners and guards in a dormitory at the London Prison Farm, August 23, 1950. Construction of the London Prison Farm began in the early 1920s. At that time, the institution was a branch unit of the Ohio Penitentiary. With completion in 1925 of its main building, the London Prison Farm was established as a separate correctional institution. It is now known as the London Correctional Institution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04484
Subjects: Prisoners; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections
Places: London (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of men threshing hay, taken by James B. Scott of Circleville, Ohio. The photographer provided a caption reading: "Miami Valley Thresher's Steam Show and Reunion - Madison Co. Fairgrounds - London, Ohio." The image was one of ten to win Honorable Mention in the Amateur category of 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: SA2734AV_B01_04
Subjects: American Revolution Bicentennial (1976); Agriculture--Ohio; Farming; Wheat; Harvesting; Agricultural machinery;
Places: Circleville (Ohio); Pickaway County (Ohio); London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph (ca. 1935-1943) of the Madison County courthouse in London, Ohio. Completed in 1892 and designed by George H. Maetzel, this building represents several architectural styles, including Beaux-Arts Classicism and Second Empire design elements. This was intended to be a smaller version of the 1887 Franklin County Courthouse which was built by the same architect. It features a Mansard roof and a barrell-vaulted light court with a stained glass ceiling in the interior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. On April 3, 1974, a devastating tornado destroyed the nearby town of Xenia, and also damaged many surrounding towns, including London. The statue of Lady Justice that stands on the top of the dome, in this photograph, was toppled due to the high winds. She was found on a ledge, and remains there, standing atop the pediment over the entrance to the building. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F07_001
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; Madison County (Ohio); Public buildings--Ohio
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph of the London Correctional Institute in Madison County, Ohio was taken in the 1960s. The facility was built in 1924 to provide for the imprisonment and rehabilitation of men convicted of crimes. By 2004, the prison held more than 2,000 inmates on nearly 3,000 acres. The photograph measures 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3098_3735522_001
Subjects: Ohio Government; Prisons
Places: London (Ohio); Madison County (Ohio)