Description: Caption reads: "Langley's Inn, built as an Indian trading post in 1828. Still stands in an excellent state of preservation on River Road at E. Wayne St. in Maumee, Ohio." The oldest business building in Lucas County, Ohio, the Commercial Building at 301 River Road has been known by different names over the years, including the Neeley House, the Eagle, the Schieley House, the Bismark, the Seurin Hotel, the Langley Inn, the Governor’s Inn, J. Brown’s River Inn, and the Old Plantation Inn. In 1836, Levi Beebe built the Commercial Building. Initially, several different businesses occupied the structure, including various law firms, several stores, and even the local post office. The building also housed an inn at this time. Several prominent people purportedly stayed at the inn, including future presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes. Businesses in the Commercial Building flourished during the 1830s and 1840s. The structure was located on the stagecoach route between Detroit, Michigan and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Also, Maumee is located on the Maumee River, and river traffic brought business and guests to the area. Maumee also was the original county seat of Lucas County, bringing people to the community who were engaged in legal matters or in politics. In 1837, the Lucas County Whig Party actually formed in the Commercial Building. In 1852, the Lucas County seat moved to Toledo. The Maumee economy weakened at this time, but the Commercial Building continued to house various businesses. Purportedly, the structure served as a stop on the Underground Railroad in the years before the American Civil War. During the twentieth century, the building principally functioned as an inn and restaurant. As of this writing, the Commercial Building houses Giannos Restaurant. The Commercial Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F02_012_1
Subjects: National Historic Landmark Program (U.S.); Historic sites--Maumee River Valley (Ind. and Ohio)--Pictorial works; Lucas County (Ohio)--History.
Places: Maumee (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: The exterior of the Lucas County Courthouse in Toledo. Lucas County dates back to the first half of the 19th century when it would be at the center of the border conflict known as the Toledo War. The "war" was a stand off in which both Ohio and the territory comprising what is today Michigan were in a heated debate about which would claim a strip of land in northwest Ohio. After some time the stand off would be resolved with Ohio keeping the contested land which includes Lucas County. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06791
Subjects: Historic buildings--Ohio; Historic sites Ohio; Law & legal affairs
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: The exterior of the Lucas County Courthouse in Toledo. Lucas County dates back to the first half of the 19th century when it would be at the center of the border conflict known as the Toledo War. The "war" was a stand off in which both Ohio and the territory comprising what is today Michigan were in a heated debate about which would claim a strip of land in northwest Ohio. After some time the stand off would be resolved with Ohio keeping the contested land which includes Lucas County. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06792
Subjects: Historic buildings--Ohio; Historic sites Ohio; Law & legal affairs
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This stereograph shows the Lucas County Courthouse in Toledo, Ohio. Pedestrians are strolling on walkways leading to the courthouse. Opened in 1897, the courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06165
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio; Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio); Courthouses--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph from the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus is of Thomas Williams, a 37-year-old man of Lucas County, Ohio. His formal attire suggests that the photograph was taken during his trial or sentencing. Williams confessed to murdering Samual Arnovitz and Herman Kandler during an attempted carjacking in Toledo Ohio. He was the 231st individual to be executed via the electric chair in Ohio. The caption at the bottom reads: "No. 231, Thomas Williams of Lucas County, Legally Electrocuted December 19th, 1941, for the Murder of Samuel Arnovitz." In 1885 the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, became the location for all executions, which previously took place in the various county seats. In 1896 the Ohio General Assembly mandated that electrocution replace hanging as the form of capital punishment. The Ohio Penitentiary regularly offered tours as well as souvenir photographs and postcards of the building and prisoners on death row. A total of 315 prisoners, both men and women, were executed in the electric chair known as “Old Sparky” between 1897 and 1963. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08285
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Death row; Electrocution; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio); Prisons--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Downtown Waterville in Lucas County. John Pray founded Waterville in 1831. Waterville was founded after he had built a water-powered grist mill on the Maumee River in 1821. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06840
Subjects: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
Places: Waterville (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph from the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus is of 54-year-old mechanic Bennie Collins. His formal attire suggests that the photograph was taken during his trial or sentencing. Collins, convicted of murdering 25-year-old Hattery after an automobile accident, was the 307th individual to be executed via the electric chair in Ohio. The caption at the bottom reads: “No. 307 Bennie Collins Lucas County, Legally Electrocuted December 19, 1958. For the Murder of Donald Eugene Hattery.” In 1885 the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, became the location for all executions, which previously took place in the various county seats. In 1896 the Ohio General Assembly mandated that electrocution replace hanging as the form of capital punishment. The Ohio Penitentiary regularly offered tours as well as souvenir photographs and postcards of the building and prisoners on death row. A total of 315 prisoners, both men and women, were executed in the electric chair known as “Old Sparky” between 1897 and 1963. Bennie Collins, of Lucas County, was legally electrocuted December 19, 1958, for the Murder of Donald Eugene Hattery. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08359
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Death row; Electrocution; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio); Prisons--Ohio; Portrait photography
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the side facade of the Lucas County Courthouse, located at 800 Adams St.. This sandstone building has a rusticated base, Roman arches and Corinthian columns. The egg-and-dart trim which recurs throughout the building, on the furniture and architectural elements, is an example of continuity and strict attention to detail. The frogs carved into the stone and in the tile mosaic of the south entranceway are reminders of the courthouse’s site of construction on the former Miami-Erie Canal. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F04_288
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places; arches; columns (architectural elements); pediments; balustrades; domes (architectural elements)
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the rear and side facades of the Lucas County Courthouse, located at 800 Adams St. This sandstone building has a rusticated base, Roman arches and Corinthian columns. The egg-and-dart trim which recurs throughout the building, on the furniture and architectural elements, is an example of continuity and strict attention to detail. The frogs carved into the stone and in the tile mosaic of the south entranceway are reminders of the courthouse’s site of construction on the former Miami-Erie Canal. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F04_287
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places; arches; columns (architectural elements); pediments; balustrades; domes (architectural elements)
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the cornerstone of the Lucas County Courthouse, located at 800 Adams St. This sandstone building has a rusticated base, Roman arches and Corinthian columns. The egg-and-dart trim which recurs throughout the building, on the furniture and architectural elements, is an example of continuity and strict attention to detail. The frogs carved into the stone and in the tile mosaic of the south entranceway are reminders of the courthouse’s site of construction on the former Miami-Erie Canal. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F04_290
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places; arches; columns (architectural elements); pediments; balustrades; domes (architectural elements)
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the front facade of the Lucas County Courthouse, located at 800 Adams St. This sandstone building has a rusticated base, Roman arches and Corinthian columns. The egg-and-dart trim which recurs throughout the building, on the furniture and architectural elements, is an example of continuity and strict attention to detail. The frogs carved into the stone and in the tile mosaic of the south entranceway are reminders of the courthouse’s site of construction on the former Miami-Erie Canal. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F04_289
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places; arches; columns (architectural elements); pediments; balustrades; domes (architectural elements)
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the exterior of the Lucas County Courthouse. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F12_001_001
Subjects: Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project--Works Progress Administration in Ohio--Downtown--architecture
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)