Description: This color photo shows the unveiling of a historic marker on Court Street, Bellefontaine, Ohio, in 1968. An unidentified man dressed in a business suit is removing the covering from the marker. His right hand also grasps a wooden hammer or gavel. Spectators watch the activity. On the photograph's far left and right are men who are documenting the event with a still camera and what appears to be a film camera. The marker reads: "Oldest concrete street in America. America's first concrete streets were those which surrounded this court house. Concrete was first used in 1891 to provide an 8-foot strip along Main Street where horses were hitched. Two years later Court Avenue was paved with concrete made from native marl supplies by the Buckeye Cement Company, 8 miles to the northeast. The marker was erected in 1968 on the 75th anniversary of the paving of Court Street." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06964
Subjects: Historical Marker; Transportation--Ohio--History; Concrete roads; Bellefontaine (Ohio); Logan County (Ohio); Rites and ceremonies; Streets--Ohio
Places: Bellefontaine (Ohio); Logan County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing the excavated burial site of two horses, located at Fort Meigs near Perrysburg, Ohio. During archaeological investigation at the site in 2001, this grave was discovered about 250 feet southwest of the wall of the original fort. On the left is the skeleton of a larger draft horse, while the right figure was a smaller cavalry horse. Their causes of death were both likely tied to their service at the fort--the draft horse from a fatal fall, and the cavalry horse from being struck by buckshot (possibly in battle). Also buried with the bodies, beneath the right shoulder of the cavalry horse, was the skull of a boar. While the exact significance of this burial is uncertain, it's possible that the positioning was intentional as part of a forgotten military ritual. The site of Fort Meigs marked a turning point in the western theatre of war for American forces during the War of 1812. The twice-successful defense of the fort in 1813 ushered in a series of American victories which ultimately secured the Great Lakes Region under United States control and cemented the geographic and cultural boundaries of the region, which still exist today. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A4597_BP29_54
Subjects: War of 1812; Fort Meigs (Ohio); Military life; Funeral rites & ceremonies; Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio;
Places: Fort Meigs (Ohio); Perrysburg (Ohio); Wood County (Ohio)
 

Description: The caption reads: "'CROWNING OF THE QUEEN,' Norwood May Festival, May 2, 1936. A W.P.A. Recreational Program for school children. Photo by W.P.A Staff Photographer." This is a photo of children performing in the Norwood May Day Festival, a WPA Recreational program for school children, in Norwood, Ohio. The children are in costume and it appears they are performing a ceremony where a festival queen is crowned. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F04_016_001
Subjects: May Day--United States--History; Children; Norwood (Ohio)--History--Pictorial works; Festivals and holidays; Rites and ceremonies--Ohio; May poles--1930-1940; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Norwood (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: The photograph shows a square tomb in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The building lies half underground with a stone wall holding back the earth behind it and a stone walkway leading to the door. Behind it are trees and head stones. Photograph by Harry Evan Kinley (1882-1969), a native of Upper Sandusky. Kinley was active in local events and organizations, and spent his professional career as a clerk at his father's store, and later as a traveling salesman for the Marion Paper & Supply Company (1934-1962). Kinley was also an avid lifelong photographer, and the bulk of the Harry Kinley Collection is comprised of glass plate negatives documenting the Kinley family, the city of Upper Sandusky and Wyandot County and surrounding areas. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV30_B01F01_18
Subjects: Cemeteries--Ohio; Tombs & sepulchral monuments; Funeral rites and ceremonies
Places: Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Wyandot County (Ohio);
 

Description: The photograph shows a square tomb in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The building lies half underground with a a stone wall holding back the earth behind it and a stone walkway leading to the door. The words over the door read "Oak Hill." Photograph by Harry Evan Kinley (1882-1969), a native of Upper Sandusky. Kinley was active in local events and organizations, and spent his professional career as a clerk at his father's store, and later as a traveling salesman for the Marion Paper & Supply Company (1934-1962). Kinley was also an avid lifelong photographer, and the bulk of the Harry Kinley Collection is comprised of glass plate negatives documenting the Kinley family, the city of Upper Sandusky and Wyandot County and surrounding areas. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV30_B01F01_45
Subjects: Cemeteries--Ohio; Tombs & sepulchral monuments; Funeral rites and ceremonies
Places: Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Wyandot County (Ohio);
 

Description: Photograph showing a small group of people at a graveyard with a fresh grave in foreground covered in flowers and greenery. The Circle Family Glass Plate Negative Collection came in with the records of John Circle, who served as Franklin County Surveyor between 1981 and 2000. The plates are thought to be part of the family history but have no identification. The images are agricultural and have no known history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV82_014
Subjects: Photography--Ohio; Cemeteries; Churches--Ohio; Funeral rites and ceremonies;
Places: Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated 1880, this broadside advertises the consecration of Reverend John A. Watterson as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, August 8th, 1880. The advertisement also describes a special train schedule for the event provided by the Columbus & Toledo Railroad Company. John Ambrose Watterson (1844 – 1899) served as Bishop of Columbus from 1880 until his death, and is the namesake of Bishop Watterson High School. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS4023
Subjects: Columbus (Ohio); Religious services; Clergy; Railroads--Ohio; Rites and ceremonies
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This drawing depicts a view of Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in 1848, the Spring Grove Cemetery is the second largest in the United States, and it is designated as a National Historic Landmark. This drawing captures the essence of the cemetery's design: a beautifully landscaped and peaceful final resting place. The setting includes a pond, trees and plants, several obelisks, and statuary. In 1844, member of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society established a cemetery association with goal of creating a garden-like burial place. The association obtained its charter in 1845, and the first internment occurred in September of that year. Renowned landscape architect Adolph Strauch (1822-1883) designed the cemetery to harmonize with nature. Although his concept was considered radical at the time, it became a model for cemeteries in other cities. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07030
Subjects: Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum (Cincinnati, Ohio); Cemeteries--Ohio; Cincinnati (Ohio); Funeral rites & ceremonies; Landscape design; Cincinnati Horticultural Society; National Historic Landmarks Program (U.S.)
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Daguerreotype portrait of a woman and deceased child, ca. 1856-1860. The identities are unknown. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03682
Subjects: Death; Multicultural Ohio--Ohio Women; Funeral rites and ceremonies
 

Description: Photograph of a memorial flower arrangement for Charles James "Little Jimmy" Leach with his photograph, ca. 1890-1892. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04733
Subjects: Newark (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Children; Funeral rites and ceremonies
Places: Newark (Ohio); Licking County (Ohio)
 

Description: This etching depicts the Dexter Mausoleum in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. The structure's Gothic Revival style is clearly evident in its flying buttresses, spires, rose window, and arched windows. The mausoleum is set in a landscape of trees and bushes. The figures of woman and small child are visible in the lower left corner. Cincinnati architect James Keys Wilson designed the Dexter Mausoleum over a four-year period (1865-1869). in the style of a Gothic Revival "funerary monument." The private mausoleum was commissioned by the family of Edmund Dexter (1801-1862), the wealthy owner of a highly successful liquor distribution business in Cincinnati. Approximately 20 members of the Dexter family are interred in the mausoleum's crypts. Established in 1848, Spring Grove Cemetery is the second-largest cemetery in the United States. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2007. The Dexter Mausoleum was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07029
Subjects: Cemeteries; Cincinnati (Ohio); Mausoleums; Funeral rites & ceremonies; Gothic revival (Architecture); National Register of Historic Places; Architecture--Ohio--Cincinnati--Pictorial works
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a portrait of a woman looking down at the deceased infant she holds on her lap. This photograph was taken by traveling photographer Albert J. Ewing, ca. 1896-1912. Like most of Ewing's work, it was likely taken in southeastern Ohio or central West Virginia. Born in 1870 in Washington County, Ohio, near Marietta, Ewing most likely began his photography career in the 1890s. The 1910 US Census and a 1912-1913 directory list him as a photographer. A negative signed “Ewing Brothers” and a picture with his younger brother, Frank, indicate that Frank may have joined the business. After 1916, directories list Albert as a salesman. He died in 1934. The Ewing Collection consists of 5,055 glass plate negatives, each individually housed and numbered. Additionally, the collection includes approximately 450 modern contact prints made from the glass plate negatives. Subjects include infants and young children, elderly people, families, school and religious groups, animals and rural scenes. In 1982, the Ohio Historical Society received the collection, still housed in the original dry plate negative boxes purchased by Albert J. Ewing. A selection of the original glass plate negatives were exhibited for the first time in 2013 at the Ohio Historical Center. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04687
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Portrait photography--United States—History; Women; Children; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Postmortem photography; Funeral rites and ceremonies
Places: Ohio; West Virginia