Description: Inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was born in this brick house in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. Edison's parents sold the home when they moved to Port Huron, Michigan in 1854, but his sister, Marion Edison Page, purchased it in 1894. Thomas Edison became the owner of his birthplace in 1906. Ironically, the house was still lit by candles and lamps upon Edison's last visit in 1923. After his death, his wife and daughter worked to open the home as a museum and memorial to Thomas Edison. The Edison Birthplace Museum opened in 1947 on the 100th anniversary of Thomas Edison's birth. This photograph measures 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3114_3737152_001
Subjects: Science and Technology; Architecture; Houses; Inventors; Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: Thomas Alva Edison was one of the greatest inventors of all of history. Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. As a child, he lived in Milan and Port Huron, Michigan. The home in Milan where Edison was born was built in 1842, sold by Edison’s parents in 1854, repurchased by his his sister Marian Edison Page in 1894, and bought by Thomas Edison in 1906. Edison invented the carbon transmitter, which greatly improved the telephone. He also invented quadruplex telegraphy and the phonograph. His invention of the incandescent light bulb led Edison to create elaborate generation plants for electricity, helping make electricity available in many people's homes. He invented the kinetoscope -- the precursor to the film projector -- in 1891. During World War I, Edison helped develop new weapons for the United States military. By the time of his death on October 18, 1931, Edison had received over one thousand patents. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F02_026_1
Subjects: Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931--Birth; Milan (Ohio)--History; Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931--Archives--Catalogs
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows an exterior view of the house where inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. The house has window shutters and an open porch with an assembly of chairs, a bench, and a small table. The Edison birthplace is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As a child, Edison lived in Milan and in Port Huron, Michigan. Although Edison received only three months of formal schooling, he became one of the greatest inventors of all time. Edison's inventions forever changed people's lives. Electric lights allowed people to remain active at night, whether it be reading, dancing, or listening to Edison's phonograph. Previously, with only candles or fireplaces to light homes, most people simply went to sleep once nightfall arrived. Factories also began to use electricity and electric lights. Now factories could remain open twenty-four hours per day, and soon the workday became divided into three eight-hour shifts. His improvements to the telegraph and telephone also helped make communication easier around the entire world. This image of Edison’s birthplace is among the photographs produced by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06394
Subjects: Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931; Milan (Ohio); Historic houses; National Register of Historic Places; United States. Work Progress Administration
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Milan Canal was started in 1833 and the first canal boats were launched on July 4, 1838. No longer did the farmers have to haul their products over the sandy wet prairie land to the ship on Lake Erie. The canal was deep and was directly connected to the Lake. It was prosperous until the advent of the railroads in the 1850s. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06118
Subjects: Canals--1830-1840; Agriculture--Economic aspects; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio); Milan (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Milan Canal was started in 1833 and the first canal boats were launched on July 4, 1838. No longer did the farmers have to haul their harvest over the sandy, wet prairie to Lake Erie. The canal was prosperous until the advent of the railroad in the 1850s. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06119
Subjects: Canals--1830-1840; Agriculture--Economic aspects; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio); Milan (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio)
 

Description: Zenas King (1818-1892) built this house in 1847. It is an example of Greek Revival architecture. King founded the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio and invented the iron suspension bridge. The house has a temple front, rare west of the Cuyahoga River. It is noted for its portico supported by ionic columns and hand carved fretwork on the pediment, as well as its use of undersized bricks. The house still stands at 128 Center Street. The temple portico has an entablature with dentil detailing and a triangular gable known as a pediment. The tympanum, or face of the pediment, is decorated with shells and scrolls. Pilasters are found at the front corners and give the illusion of additional columns. The first floor windows are ornamented with anthemion, a conventionalized leaf ornament which appears to radiate from a single point. The northern and southern wings give the house an asymmetrical appearance. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F09_013_001
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Architecture, Domestic--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Dwellings; Milan (Ohio)--History; Neighborhoods--United States--History; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image depicts the Edison home in Milan, Ohio. Thomas Edison, the American inventor and businessman, was born in Milan on February 11, 147. He lived there until he was seven years old. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06407
Subjects: Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931; Inventors--Ohio
Places: Milan (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: Zenas King (1818-1892) built this house in 1847. It is an example of Greek Revival architecture. King founded the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio and invented the iron suspension bridge. The house has a temple front, rare west of the Cuyahoga River. It is noted for its portico supported by ionic columns and hand carved fretwork on the pediment, as well as its use of undersized bricks. The house still stands at 128 Center Street. The temple portico has an entablature with dentil detailing and a triangular gable known as a pediment. The tympanum, or face of the pediment, is decorated with shells and scrolls. Pilasters are found at the front corners and give the illusion of additional columns. The first floor windows are ornamented with anthemion, a conventionalized leaf ornament which appears to radiate from a single point. The northern and southern wings give the house an asymmetrical appearance. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F10_020_001
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Architecture, Domestic--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Dwellings; Milan (Ohio)--History; Neighborhoods--United States--History; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Milan (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: Zenas King (1818-1892) built this house in 1847. It is an example of Greek Revival architecture. King founded the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio and invented the iron suspension bridge. The house has a temple front, rare west of the Cuyahoga River. It is noted for its portico supported by ionic columns and hand carved fretwork on the pediment, as well as its use of undersized bricks. The house still stands at 128 Center Street. The temple portico has an entablature with dentil detailing and a triangular gable known as a pediment. The tympanum, or face of the pediment, is decorated with shells and scrolls. Pilasters are found at the front corners and give the illusion of additional columns. The first floor windows are ornamented with anthemion, a conventionalized leaf ornament which appears to radiate from a single point. The northern and southern wings give the house an asymmetrical appearance. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F11_033_001
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Architecture, Domestic--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Dwellings; Milan (Ohio)--History; Neighborhoods--United States--History; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio)
 

Description: In planning for the Milan Canal, the plans called for a basin to be built beside the town. This meant that the river had to be moved north and a dam was built to divert some of the water to the basin. The basin was to be 15 feet deep, 1200 feel long and 300 feet wide. It was to be capable of accommodating 20 lake schooners at any one time in the harbor. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06120
Subjects: Canals--1830-1840; Agriculture--Economic aspects; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio); Milan (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio)
 

Description: Thomas Edison, a native of Milan, Ohio, invented and patented this phonograph. It was Edison's favorite invention. He created what he called the "Speaking phonograph" while working on improvements to Alexander Graham Bell's telephone in 1877. He did not market the machine for another ten years, however, so that he could concentrate on his next invention, the electric light. This oak and metal tabletop phonograph was made between 1915 and 1930 and measures 19.68 by 15.74 by 14.96 inches (50 by 40 by 38 cm). Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was born in Milan, Ohio. He gained fame as an inventor, registering a total of 1,093 patents for such innovations as the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the moving picture camera. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1480_1164701_001
Subjects: Science and Technology; Inventions; Inventors; Phonograph; Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: A young girl wearing a bonnet reminiscent of Revolutionary War era clothing holds a small American Flag in Milan, Ohio. The image was submitted by photographer Lawrence A. Lambert of Dayton, Ohio, in the Amateur category of the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest. In August 1976, the Ohio American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Committee (OARBAC) began the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest as part of a larger effort in Ohio to celebrate the 1976 American Bicentennial. The contest was meant to document "the spirit and character of the people and places which represent Ohio during [the] bicentennial year," and to create a permanent photographic archive of the year's festivity for use by future researchers. Both professional and amateur photographers submitted over 500 photographs for consideration, all taken within the state between January 1 and December 31, 1976. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA2734AV_B04F08_01_1
Subjects: American Revolution Bicentennial (1976); Costumes;
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio); Huron County (Ohio)