Description: This is a picture taken at night of the WLW radio antenna. The antenna is located in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati. In 1933, Powel Crosley obtained a construction permit from the Federal Radio Commission for a 500 kilowatt superstation, and he spent some $500, 000 building the transmitter and antenna. In January 1934 WLW began broadcasting at the 500 kilowatt level late at night under the experimental call sign W8XO. In April 1934 the station was authorized to operate at 500 kilowatts during regular hours under the WLW call letters. On May 2, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a ceremonial button that officially launched WLW's 500-kilowatt signal.[8] As the first station in the world to broadcast at this strength, WLW received repeated complaints from around the United States and Canada that it was overpowering other stations as far away as Toronto. In December 1934 WLW cut back to 50 kilowatts at night to mitigate the interference, and began construction of three 50ft. tower antennas to be used to reduce signal strength towards Canada. With these three antennas in place, full-time broadcasting at 500 kilowatts resumed in early 1935. However, WLW was continuing to operate under special temporary authority that had to be renewed every six months, and each renewal brought complaints about interference and undue domination of the market by such a high-power station. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B14F05_001_001
Subjects: Mason (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio); Antenna arrays; WLW (Radio Station: Cincinnati, Ohio); Radio stations; Radio broadcasting
Places: Mason (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: The photograph is a picture of the radio antenna for WLW, a Cincinnati radio station. The 831 foot antenna had 500,000 watts of power. In 1933 the station owner, Powel Crosley Jr., obtained a construction permit from the Federal Radio Commission for a 500 kilowatt superstation, and he spent some $500,000 building the transmitter and antenna. In January 1934, WLW began broadcasting at the 500 kilowatt level late at night under the experimental call sign W8XO. In April 1934 the station was authorized to operate at 500 kilowatts during regular hours under the WLW call letters. On May 2, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a ceremonial button that officially launched WLW's 500-kilowatt signal. As the first station in the world to broadcast at this strength, WLW received repeated complaints from around the United States and Canada that it was overpowering other stations as far away as Toronto. In December 1934, WLW cut back to 50 kilowatts at night to mitigate the interference, and began construction of three 50 ft. tower antennas to be used to reduce signal strength towards Canada. With these three antennas in place, full-time broadcasting at 500 kilowatts resumed in early 1935. However, WLW was continuing to operate under special temporary authority that had to be renewed every six months, and each renewal brought complaints about interference and undue domination of the market by such a high-power station. The FCC was having second thoughts about permitting extremely wide-area broadcasting versus more locally oriented stations, and in 1938, the US Senate adopted the "Wheeler" resolution, expressing it to be the sense of that body that more stations with power in excess of 50 kilowatts are against the public interest. As a result, in 1939 the 500-kilowatt broadcast authorization was not renewed, bringing an end to the era of the AM radio superstation. Because of the impending war and the possible need for national broadcasting in an emergency, the W8XO experimental license for 500 kilowatts remained in effect until December 29, 1942. WLW is known by its' historical tagline "The Nation's Station" View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B14F05_002_001
Subjects: Transmitting antennas; WLW (Radio Station : Cincinnati, Ohio); Mason (Ohio);
Places: Mason (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the Blaw-Knox Antenna in Mason, Ohio. In 1922, during the infancy of broadcast radio, the call letters WLW were assigned to the station begun by Cincinnatian Powell Crosley Jr. The station moved its transmitting operations to Mason in 1928, and by April 17, 1934, WLW had permission to operate experimentally at 500,000 watts. Becoming the first and only commercial radio station to broadcast at this "superpower," WLW was formally opened at 500,000 watts by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 2, 1934. Using its 831-foot Blaw-Knox antenna to broadcast at ten times the power of any station, it earned the title "The Nation's Station." Locals reported hearing broadcasts on barbed wire fences, milking machines, rainspouts, water faucets, and radiators. The custom built transmitter, a joint venture between RCA, GE, and Westinghouse, remained in operation until March 1, 1939 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered the station to return to broadcasting at 50,000 watts. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06457
Subjects: Radio broadcasting; Warren County (Ohio); Photography--Ohio
Places: Mason (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the Blaw-Knox Antenna in Mason, Ohio. In 1922, during the infancy of broadcast radio, the call letters WLW were assigned to the station begun by Cincinnatian Powell Crosley Jr. The station moved its transmitting operations to Mason in 1928, and by April 17, 1934, WLW had permission to operate experimentally at 500,000 watts. Becoming the first and only commercial radio station to broadcast at this "superpower," WLW was formally opened at 500,000 watts by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 2, 1934. Using its 831-foot Blaw-Knox antenna to broadcast at ten times the power of any station, it earned the title "The Nation's Station." Locals reported hearing broadcasts on barbed wire fences, milking machines, rainspouts, water faucets, and radiators. The custom built transmitter, a joint venture between RCA, GE, and Westinghouse, remained in operation until March 1, 1939 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered the station to return to broadcasting at 50,000 watts. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06458
Subjects: Radio broadcasting; Warren County (Ohio);
Places: Mason (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Carte de visite of Pvt. Frank S. Mason, who served with Company F of the 63rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Company F was recruited from Meigs, Noble, & Washington Counties, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV200_b03_f15_03
Subjects: Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Pictorial works; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Photographs; United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 63rd (1861-1865) Company F
Places: Meigs County (Ohio); Noble County (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1861-1865, this is a photograph of American Civil War Brigadier General John Sanford Mason. Mason was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1824 and attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and Washington College in Pennsylvania before being appointed to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1843. After battling illness while serving in the Mexican War, Mason served in the American Civil War and eventually became the colonel of the 4th Ohio Infantry. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC3316_1_BrigGenMason
Subjects: U.S. Army; Civil War 1861-1865; Military officers; Generals--United States
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Tintype portrait of J. Cass Mason, a captain on the S.S. Sultana, who was killed when the ship exploded on the Mississippi River just north of Memphis, Tennessee, on April 27, 1865. The wooden steamship Sultana was transporting a large number of Union troops who were traveling home after the end of the Civil War, including almost 2,000 soldiers and 350 officers who had just been released from Cahawba and Andersonville prisons. Historians have estimated that over 1,700 lives were lost in what is still the worst maritime disaster in American history. At over 500 men, Ohio had the largest contingent of troops aboard the ship. An investigation held in the months following the disaster concluded with Captain Fredrick Speed, a Union officer in charge of making arrangements for the transport of Union soldiers back home, being found guilty of neglect on June 9, 1866. This verdict was overturned on June 21, 1866 and ultimately no one was held responsible for this disaster. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AP1819
Subjects: Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Military Ohio; Disasters; Steamboats;
Places: St. Louis (Missouri)
 

Description: Dated January 9, 1941, this photograph shows the American Hotel in Ohio, with the Mason Brothers shop on the first floor as well as a truck for Pennant Crackers, based in Columbus, Ohio, parked outside. 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_B10F09_013_001
Subjects: Hotels; Automobiles; Buildings; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Broadside dated August 4, 1853, announcing a $100 reward for the apprehension and return of a fugitive slave named Emily who belonged to Thomas H. Williams from near Lewisburg, Mason County, Kentucky. Her physical description is provided, as well as what she is believed to be wearing, along with information about a reward for her capture and return. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02768
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Fugitive slaves--Ohio--History; Fugitive slaves;
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Photograph of Samuel Wilcox Clark (1846-1903), an African American educator, school administrator and author from Cincinnati, Ohio. Clark was also a Mason, and appeared in "An Official History of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons," published by William Parham in 1906. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: 366_1P217_Clark
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Educators; Fraternal orders; Freemasons;
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photomechanical print of Charles A. Cottrill, an African American who held the positions of Clerk, 1st Deputy Clerk, and Chief Deputy in the County Recorder's office in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. Cottrill was also a Mason, and appeared in "An Official History of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons," published by William Parham in 1906. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: 366_1P217_Cottrill
Subjects: African American Ohioans; City employees; Fraternal orders; Freemasons;
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Front view of a quart-sized Mason canning jar, made of aqua-colored glass with screw top lid and rubber seal inside. It was made ca. 1930-1960. Jars like these are used for home canning and preserving of food. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05411
Subjects: Canning and preserving; Kitchen utensils--United States--History
Places: Ohio