Description: This photograph is a black-and-white image of a colorful mural titled "Mail—The Connecting Link’," painted in 1938 by artist Sally F. Haley (1908-2007). The mural depicts the significant role that mail (and the postal service) plays in the life of individuals and of the entire nation. Three human figures (a mail carrier, a woman, and a little girl) occupy the center of the image, forming a triangular space that divides the background between urban and rural settings. The mail carrier is delivering a letter to the woman as the little girl watches. Bags of mail travel to distant locations via trains (rural areas and small towns) and boats (large urban areas). On the left side the mural, a railroad signal bears the number “1938,” the year that Haley painted the mural. The mural, painted in oil on canvas, is located in the McConnelsville, Ohio, post office. It measures 5 feet high by 17 feet wide. The mural was funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Section of Painting and Sculpture, one of the department’s three visual arts programs instituted during the Great Depression. Established in 1934, the Section of Painting and Sculpture commissioned artists to create paintings and sculpture that would decorate new federal buildings. The commissions were awarded competitively. Unlike other cultural programs of the New Deal, the Section’s primary goal was to procure art for public buildings, not to provide work relief. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Sally Haley was the daughter of Elizabeth Akers Haley and John P. Haley, a portrait photographer. John Haley was a friend of photographers Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen. Two of Sally’s brothers also became artists. In 1931, Sally Haley graduated from Yale University with a bachelor of fine arts degree. She taught art in a Bridgeport high school for two years, studied art in Germany for a few months, and then returned to the U.S. to paint full time. In 1935 she married artist Michele Russo, and the couple lived in Connecticut until 1947, when they moved to Portland, Oregon. Haley was very active in the Portland art scene, and her paintings were widely praised. She died in 2007 at age 99. In 1988 photographer Connie Girard took color and black-and-white images of this mural for an article in "Timeline" magazine (June/July 1989). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04495
Subjects: Mural paintings (visual works); Post office buildings--Ohio; United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture; Great Depression and the New Deal; McConnelsville (Ohio)
Places: McConnelsville (Ohio); Morgan County (Ohio)
 

Description: This flag has a red border with a white field and one blue star. It is a wool rectangular flag measuring 44 by 39 cm. Cyril H. Webster of Columbus, Ohio, donated this wool service flag in 1953. This flag was displayed in the donor's home while he served in World War I. The In Service Flag (Blue Star Banner) was patented by an Ohioan, Colonel Robert L. Queisser of East Cleveland, Ohio, on 6 November 1917. Intended for display by families who have members serving in the Armed Forces, blue star banners are also displayed in shop windows to honor the members of that organization who were serving. Most flags were homemade by mothers, though they later became mass-produced. Upon death in service the blue star was replaced by a gold one, wounded soldiers' stars were replaced by silver. One of the most famous flags was that of the five Sullivan brothers who all perished on the U.S.S. Juneau. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H65301_001
Subjects: Textile--wool; Ceremonial artifact; Communication artifact; Military flags; Flags--Ohio; World War, 1914-1918; Blue Star Banner;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image is a reproduction of a photograph depicting a view of the Ohio and Erie Canal at Millersport, Ohio, ca. 1906. The Ohio and Erie Canal was one of Ohio's most important canals during the mid nineteenth century. During the late 1810s, Governor Thomas Worthington and Governor Ethan Allen Brown both supported the development of canals. Both men believed that Ohioans needed quick and easy access to the Ohio River and to Lake Erie if they were to profit financially. Farmers and business owners would be able to transport their products much more easily and cheaply with canals rather than turnpikes. Canals would also possibly open up new markets for Ohio goods. In 1822 the Ohio legislature created a new Ohio Canal Commission, which eventually recommended two routes: a route that started at Lake Erie, passing through the Cuyahoga Valley, the Muskingum Valley, the Licking Valley, and then to the Ohio River along the Scioto Valley (Ohio and Erie Canal) and a western route along the Miami and Maumee Valleys (Miami and Erie Canal). In 1825 the Ohio legislature approved both routes, and work began immediately. On July 4, 1825, work began on the Ohio and Erie Canal at Licking Summit just south of Newark. The surrounding swamps were drained to create the Licking Reservoir, today known as Buckeye Lake, in order to supply adequate water for the canal going north to Coshocton and south to Circleville. After the canal route was established, the state engineers discovered that there was a ridge of hills located south of the proposed reservoir through which they would have to cut the canal. Because it was impossible to raise the reservoir’s level, the ridge had to be cut down to the level of the reservoir. This "Deep Cut" marks the deepest part of the canal at 32 feet and runs south from Millersport for nearly two miles. To finance the canals, the Ohio government relied on loans. Ohio received an initial loan of $400,000 from bankers and businessmen living along the East Coast. The canal commissioners estimated that the Ohio and Erie Canal would cost $ 2.3 million, but it actually cost roughly $10,000 per mile to finish. Although the construction of both canals nearly bankrupted the state government, the canals allowed Ohioans to prosper, beginning in the 1830s all the way to the Civil War. In 1830 the Ohio legislature earmarked funds for the Miami and Erie Canal's extension to Defiance and Lake Erie; by 1833 the Ohio and Erie Canal was complete. Once completed, however, the state’s canals still faced numerous difficulties. The effects of flooding and freezing could and often did seriously damage the canals. Usually canals in the northern half of the state were drained dry from November to April. These difficulties paled in comparison to the advantages of having the canals. The cost to ship goods from the East Coast to Ohio and vice versa declined tremendously, from $125 per ton of goods to $25 per ton of goods. Travelers who were willing to trade time for economy could save considerable money by taking a canal boat. Most canals remained in operation in Ohio until the late 1800s. By the 1850s canals were losing business to the railroads, which offered several advantages. Railroads delivered passengers and goods more quickly, and they were not limited by a water source as canals were. Because of these advantages, railroads quickly supplanted the canals. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06109
Subjects: Ohio and Erie Canal (Ohio); Canals; Transportation--Ohio--History; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Millersport (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: Portrait of William Allen, who served one term as the Governor of Ohio from 1874-1876. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS_2959
Subjects: Ohio Government; Presidents and Politics; Governors; Ohio Governor (1874-1876 : Allen); Ohio History State and Local Government
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio);
 

Description: Interior view of Kinley's Department Store in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Opened by John H. Kinley in 1896, the store operated until 1929 at 132 North Sandusky Avenue. This photograph was taken of his father's store by Harry Evan Kinley (1882-1969), a native of Upper Sandusky. He was active in local events and organizations, and spent his professional career as a clerk at his father's store, and later as a travelling 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: AL05400
Subjects: Ohio Economy--Economy--Business; Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Department stores;
Places: Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Wyandot County (Ohio)
 

Description: Martin Adams of Hamilton County, Legally Executed at 12:20 A.M., September 17, 1895, for the Murder of John Ohmer at Cincinnati, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08049
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Prisons--Ohio; Death row
 

Description: National colors of the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Much of the flag has disintegrated and has no visible markings. The flag has not been cataloged in this collection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01889
Subjects: Flags--Ohio; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This photograph from the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus is of 27-year-old Max Amerman of Medina. His formal attire suggests that the photograph was taken during his trial or sentencing. Amerman was the 284th individual to be executed via the electric chair in Ohio. The caption at the bottom reads: “No. 284 -- Max Amerman of Medina County, Legally Electrocuted November 15, 1951, for the Murder of Harold Mast.” 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. Max Amerman, of Medina County, was legally electrocuted November 15, 1951, for the Murder of Harold Mast. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08336
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Capital punishment; Death row; Electrocution; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio); Prisons--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Medina (Ohio); Medina County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of the Army Air Force Choral Group performing in Greensboro, North Carolina on November 29, 1944. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS15_B08_03
Subjects: Music; Musicians; African American men; United States. Air Force.
 

Description: George Washington, the first President of the United States was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland, Virginia, British America. He died on December 14, 1799 at Mount Vernon, Virginia. He was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07624
Subjects: Presidents--United States; Presidents and Politics; Other--Federal Government; Washington, George, 1732-1799
 

Description: Painting of national colors of the 122nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02566
Subjects: Flags--Ohio; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
 

Description: Photograph showing telephone lines located along the still-unpaved National Road, east of Zanesville. Beginning construction in 1806, the National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first federally-funded interstate highway. Crossing six states from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois, over 220 miles of the 600-mile road pass through Ohio. During the nineteenth century it was an important commercial artery for Midwestern merchants and farmers, and in the twentieth century, it continued to be a major east/west route for automobile travel. The National Road has been named both an "All-American Road" and a "National Scenic Byway" by the U.S. Department of Transportation. General road scenes also included in this collection illustrate driving conditions before and after the National Road was paved. Prior to paving, photographs show that the National Road could be very rutted and muddy. There are also photographs of road construction, mile markers, photographic reproductions of maps, a sign that lists rates of toll, a tollbooth on the National Road, and a worker on the National Road. Other states represented in the collection include West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV119_B01_F10_09
Subjects: Roads; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development; Travel; Streets--Ohio; National Road;
Places: Zanesville (Ohio); Muskingum County (Ohio);