Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows the Burnet Woods Trailside Museum, located at 3251 Brookline Drive, Cincinnati Ohio, and is adjacent to the University of Cincinnati. In 1871 Robert W. Burnet and William S. Groesbeck suggested lease Burnett Woods from the city, which was done the following year. In 1875, and artificial lake was added and by 1881 the land was purchased. Subsequent acquisitions put the park at 89.3 acres. The historic bandstand was built in 1911. 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_B10F04_005_001
Subjects: Parks; Trailside Museums; Cincinnati (Ohio); Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "C.W. Ackerman, Photographer. 3021227 Prospect Bldg. MA, 5693 Cleveland, O." This photo depicts a nature presentation as a man tries to control what is most likely a Barred owl in front of a crowd at the Cleveland Trailside Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. The Trailside Museum was founded by Arthur Baldwin Williams, an ecologist, Curator of Education for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and park naturalist for the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District. The museum opened on July 4, 1931 in North Chagrin Park, and was the first of its kind in America. In 1934, museum attendance exceeded 34,000. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F02_016_001
Subjects: Cleveland Metropolitan Park District (Ohio); Trailside Museums; Barred owl; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: The photograph shows a Cleveland Metroparks naturalist or employee showing a snake to a group of children inside of the Rocky River Reservation Nature Center. The snake the park ranger is holding appears to be a black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta). The naturalist is giving a lecture about the reptile to the children, while standing in front of a fire place with a fish fossil in the mantle. The museum also features some fossils and a plaque on the wall reads the following: "This museum is devoted to the work of helping visitors to this park to a better understanding of the plant and animal life of the Rocky River valley. Your questions will be gladly answered by the trailside naturalist in charge." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F03_0030_001
Subjects: Cleveland Metropolitan Park District (Ohio); Trailside Museums; Snakes
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio); North Olmsted (Ohio)