Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this shows four photographs of Cascade Park in Elyria, Ohio. Cascade Park, located on Park Road, near the intersection of West River Road North and Furnace Street, lies in a deep gorge of the Black River, carved by the same glaciers that created the Great Lakes. It is the largest and most popular park in Elyria and has retained its natural beauty despite is modern playground. Ohio Guide mentions a swimming pool, but it appears to be gone. Winding trails lead through thick clumps of trees and shrubs, though picnic groves, and past craggy masses of the gorge. Time and erosion have carved Shelter Cave, Bear Den, Robber's Den, Natural Bridge, and other configurations scattered throughout the park. 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_B09F16_071
Subjects: Waterfalls; Parks; Geography and Natural Resources; Geology; Lorain County (Ohio)
Places: Elyria (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a mural titled "Pioneers Crossing the Ohio River" by Michael Loew. The mural is located in the Amherst, Ohio post office. It is oil on canvas and measures 4 1/8 feet high by 14 feet long. The mural was created in 1941 with funding from the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture, a depression era public works program that provided work for unemployed artists. This photograph was taken by Connie Girard in 1988. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04712
Subjects: Lorain County (Ohio); Artists; Ohio History; mural paintings (visual works); Pioneers--Ohio;
Places: Amherst (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: This color photograph shows key participants in the ceremonial unveiling of an Ohio Historical Marker in Elyria, Ohio, on May 23, 1969. The marker honors the Easter Seals Society and its founder, Ohio businessman Edgar H. Allen (1862-1937). In this photograph four people are standing next to the historical marker. They are (left to right): Chauncey B. Smythe, president of the Elyria Memorial Hospital Board; Leon Chaterlain, president of the National Society for Crippled Children and Adults; Michelle Williams, the 1969 Lorain County Easter Seal poster girl; and Richard Elliott, president of the Elyria Rotary Club. A tragic event inspired Edgar Allen’s crusade to help children with disabilities. In 1907 his teenage son Homer died after sustaining injuries in a streetcar accident in Elyria. Eight other people died in the accident, and eighty were injured. The lack of local medical facilities prompted Allen to raise money to build the Elyria Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1908. His work with the hospital sparked his desire to help children with special needs. He led the successful effort to open a hospital in Elyria devoted solely to the care of children. The Gates Hospital for Crippled Children opened in 1915, the first of its kind in the nation. In 1919 he established the Ohio Society for Crippled Children. Three years later, Allen and leading Ohio Rotarians launched the National Society for Crippled Children, precursor to the Easter Seals Society and its affiliates. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06953
Subjects: Elyria (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio); Historical Marker; National Easter Seal Society (U.S.); Ohio Society for Crippled Children
Places: Elyria (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: This color photograph shows key participants in the ceremonial unveiling of an Ohio Historical Marker in Elyria, Ohio, on May 23, 1969. The marker honors the Easter Seals Society and its founder, Ohio businessman Edgar H. Allen (1862-1937). In this photograph five people are standing next to the historical marker. Leon Chaterlain, president of the National Society for Crippled Children and Adults, is pulling the drape away from the marker. To his immediate right is Chauncey B. Smythe, president of the Elyria Memorial Hospital Board. The other individuals, including a dark-haired little girl wearing hat, are unidentified. A tragic event inspired Edgar Allen’s crusade to help children with disabilities. In 1907 his teenage son Homer died after sustaining injuries in a streetcar accident in Elyria. Eight other people died in the accident, and eighty were injured. The lack of local medical facilities prompted Allen to raise money to build the Elyria Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1908. His work with the hospital sparked his desire to help children with special needs. He led the successful effort to open a hospital in Elyria devoted solely to the care of children. The Gates Hospital for Crippled Children opened in 1915, the first of its kind in the nation. In 1919 he established the Ohio Society for Crippled Children. Three years later, Allen and leading Ohio Rotarians launched the National Society for Crippled Children, precursor to the Easter Seals Society and its affiliates. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06954
Subjects: Elyria (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio); Historical Marker; National Easter Seal Society (U.S.); Ohio Society for Crippled Children
Places: Elyria (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: This drawing shows the village of Wellington, Ohio, in Lorain County in the early 1900s. The Wellington Town Hall is prominently displayed, and has a variety of architectural styles. Built in 1885, the building combines Greek, Byzantine, and Spanish revival elements. A long, low row of buildings line the road next to the Town Hall. A small horse-drawn wagon appears near the center of the image. The illustration originally appeared in Henry Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio," 1907. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04310
Subjects: Villages; Lorain County (Ohio); Architecture--Ohio; Cities and towns--Ohio; City halls--Ohio
Places: Wellington (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)