Description: Thomas W. Harvey (1821-1892) was an accomplished Ohio educator who is best remembered for his contributions to textbooks during the mid-to-late nineteenth century. After graduating from the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1844, Harvey established Geauga High School in Chardon, Ohio. In 1848, he accepted a position as principal of a private academy at Republic, Ohio, and in 1851, he became superintendent of Massillon schools, a position he held for fourteen years before becoming the superintendent of Painesville's schools. In 1871, Governor Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Harvey as the Ohio State Commissioner of Public Schools. Harvey held this position for the next three years. Upon completion of his term, he returned to Painesville and assumed his position as superintendent. During his career, Harvey also helped establish the Ohio State Teachers' Association and the Northeastern Ohio Teachers' Association. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04126
Subjects: Education--Ohio; Teachers--Training of; Educators; Schools--Ohio
Places: Painesville (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated April 15, 1936, this photograph shows teachers for the Butler County Emergency School, a Works Progress Administration program, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The photograph's caption reads "Emergency School Teachers-April 15, 1936, meeting at Y.W.C.A. H.R. Reade, County Supervisor. Mr. Reade in gray suit in front row." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a government office that hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects from April 8, 1935 to June 30, 1943. In the first six months that the WPA existed, more than 173, 000 Ohioans, including both men and women, found employment through this program. More than 1, 500 unemployed teachers in Ohio found work through the WPA teaching illiterate adults how to read. In twelve separate counties, primarily in southeastern Ohio, more than twenty-five percent of families had at least one member working for the WPA during the late 1930s. By the end of 1938, these various workers had built or improved 12, 300 miles of roads and streets and constructed 636 public buildings, several hundred bridges, hundreds of athletic fields, and five fish hatcheries. WPA employees made improvements to thousands of more buildings, roads, and parks within Ohio. WPA artists also painted a number of murals in Ohio post offices. 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:
Subjects: Teachers; Education; Schools--Ohio; United States. Works Progress Administration of Ohio; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Hamilton (Ohio); Butler County (Ohio)
 

Description: Sketch of the Worthington Female Seminary in 1846. The seminary was run by the Ohio Methodist Conference and was located in downtown Worthington, Ohio. In the 1850s, more women chose to go to the new Ohio Wesleyan Female College in Delaware and the seminary was closed. In the 1870s, it became a "Normal School" that trained teachers, as Ohio realized the need to have better trained teachers in the state. This image is from "Historical Collections of Ohio" by Henry Howe, 1952. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04060
Subjects: Women--Education - Ohio; Worthington (Ohio); Education, Higher--Ohio--History; Teachers--Training of
Places: Worthington (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This engraved portrait depicts Joseph Ray, a famous educator best known for writing mathematical textbooks. Born in Virginia on November 25, 1807, Ray graduated from Franklin College in New Athens, Ohio, in 1828, and from the Medical College of Ohio in 1831. In 1832, he helped establish the Western Literacy Institute and College of Professional Teachers, which helped teachers become more professional and better-trained and provided them with the latest teaching techniques. Ray died from tuberculosis on April 11, 1855. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04174
Subjects: Education--Ohio; Educators; Teachers--Training of
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "People" The people in this photo appear to be teachers. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F07_005_001
Subjects: Teachers; Blackboards
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Stamp Club Teachers Dayton Ohio 1936 ACTIVITIES" Dayton still has a stamp club. It is unclear if it is the same club. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F08_015_001
Subjects: Stamp collecting; Teachers
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: "Ohio Central Normal School, or Worthington Female Seminary" illustration from "Historical Sketches of the Higher Educational Institutions, and also of Benevolent and Reformatory Institutions of the State of Ohio," 1876. The Ohio Central Normal School, formerly the Worthington Female Seminary, was founded in 1839 and was the first female seminary of the Methodist Church west of the Alleghenies. The seminary was originally located in the Masonic Temple New England Lodge No. 4, located at 634 High Street in Worthington, Ohio. Students from Worthington and surrounding communities--as well as a few from around the country, primarily Methodist ministers' daughters--were educated at the seminary. It was initially very successful, often having as many as one hundred and fifty students, but after the establishment of the Ohio Wesleyan Female College in 1853, the Worthington Female Seminary lost support and closed in 1857. The building became home to the Ohio Central Normal School in 1871, providing training for kindergarten, primary, intermediate, and secondary teachers. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04162
Subjects: Worthington (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Education; Women--Education - Ohio; Teachers--Training of
Places: Worthington (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated September 19, 1936, this photograph shows women and children, members of the parent education program at Butler County Emergency School, posing for a portrait outside. Butler County Emergency School was a Works Progress Administration program at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The photograph's caption reads "Butler County, R.R. #I, Middletown, O. at Rolling Mill Park. Parent Education, child study, and good citizenship. Miss Helen Matson, Teacher. Butler Co. Emer. Schls." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a government office that hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects from April 8, 1935 to June 30, 1943. In the first six months that the WPA existed, more than 173, 000 Ohioans, including both men and women, found employment through this program. More than 1, 500 unemployed teachers in Ohio found work through the WPA teaching illiterate adults how to read. In twelve separate counties, primarily in southeastern Ohio, more than twenty-five percent of families had at least one member working for the WPA during the late 1930s. By the end of 1938, these various workers had built or improved 12, 300 miles of roads and streets and constructed 636 public buildings, several hundred bridges, hundreds of athletic fields, and five fish hatcheries. WPA employees made improvements to thousands of more buildings, roads, and parks within Ohio. WPA artists also painted a number of murals in Ohio post offices. 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:
Subjects: Teachers; Education; Schools--Ohio; United States. Works Progress Administration of Ohio; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Middletown (Ohio); Butler County (Oho)
 

Description: Dated September 19, 1936, this photograph shows women of the Butler County Emergency School's sewing project sewing at someone's home. Butler County Emergency School was a Works Progress Administration program at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The photograph's caption reads "Butler County, Middletown, Ohio, Seventeenth Street. Sewing and different types of Needlecraft. Mrs. Thenie Latham, Teacher." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a government office that hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects from April 8, 1935 to June 30, 1943. In the first six months that the WPA existed, more than 173, 000 Ohioans, including both men and women, found employment through this program. More than 1, 500 unemployed teachers in Ohio found work through the WPA teaching illiterate adults how to read. In twelve separate counties, primarily in southeastern Ohio, more than twenty-five percent of families had at least one member working for the WPA during the late 1930s. By the end of 1938, these various workers had built or improved 12, 300 miles of roads and streets and constructed 636 public buildings, several hundred bridges, hundreds of athletic fields, and five fish hatcheries. WPA employees made improvements to thousands of more buildings, roads, and parks within Ohio. WPA artists also painted a number of murals in Ohio post offices. 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:
Subjects: Sewing; Teachers; Education; African Americans; Schools--Ohio; Works Progress Administration
Places: Middletown (Ohio); Butler County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Montgomery Co; People at work + play-Alfred Murphy; Never too old to learn! That's the slogan of Alfred Murphy, 105 year old ex-slave, a pupil in a literacy class conducted by the WPA in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Murphy lived 33 years in slavery, spent two years in the Confederate Army, throwing up breastwork. He was at Richmond when General Lee surrendered. Unemployed teachers, hired by the WPA, are teaching 9,000 Ohioans to read and write. Ohio has 320,000 illiterates, America, 3,200,000." Stamped: Information Unit, W.P.A. in Ohio, Clinton Building-Columbus, Ohio In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration sponsored a Federal Writers' Project dedicated to chronicling the experience of slavery as remembered by former slaves. African-American men and women born into slavery were interviewed. Their stories were recorded and transcribed. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F07_017_001
Subjects: Adult literacy--Slavery--Works Progress Administration--Civil War--Confederate--Teachers
Places: Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated September 19, 1936, this photograph shows women and a boy at the literary class at Butler County Emergency School, a Works Progress Administration program, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The photograph's caption reads "523 S. Monument Ave., Teacher Miss Mildred Conway. Literary Class." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a government office that hired unemployed Americans to work on various government projects from April 8, 1935 to June 30, 1943. In the first six months that the WPA existed, more than 173, 000 Ohioans, including both men and women, found employment through this program. More than 1, 500 unemployed teachers in Ohio found work through the WPA teaching illiterate adults how to read. In twelve separate counties, primarily in southeastern Ohio, more than twenty-five percent of families had at least one member working for the WPA during the late 1930s. By the end of 1938, these various workers had built or improved 12, 300 miles of roads and streets and constructed 636 public buildings, several hundred bridges, hundreds of athletic fields, and five fish hatcheries. WPA employees made improvements to thousands of more buildings, roads, and parks within Ohio. WPA artists also painted a number of murals in Ohio post offices. 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:
Subjects: African Americans; Teachers; Education; Schools--Ohio; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: Hamilton (Ohio); Butler County (Ohio)
 

Description: Taken by traveling photographer Albert J. Ewing on May 4, 1909, this photograph shows the students of Mt. Zion Normal School posing for a group portrait. The small chalkboard in front of the students reads "Mt. Zion Normal, 55/4/09, Br[..] teacher." A normal school is a school or college for the training of teachers. 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: AV71_b15_f864
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Portrait photography--United States--History; Education; School buildings; Teachers--Training of
Places: Mt. Zion (West Virginia)