Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows a portion of the Ohio and Erie Canal built in the 1820s and 1830s to transport freight. This section is near Circleville, Ohio, in Pickaway County where a three mile stretch of the canal still exists. Work began on the Ohio and Erie Canal on July 4, 1825, at Licking Summit, just south of Newark, Ohio, and was completed in 1833. The Ohio and Erie Canal cost approximately ten thousand dollars per mile to complete, and the Miami and Erie Canal cost roughly twelve thousand dollars per mile to finish. The canals nearly bankrupted the state government, but they allowed Ohioans to prosper beginning in the 1830s all the way to the Civil War. Many recent immigrants to the United States, especially the Irish, survived thanks to jobs on the canals. Other people, like the residents of the communal society at Zoar, also helped construct canals to assist the survival of their community. Many of Ohio’s communities today, including Akron, began as towns for the canal workers. Most canals remained in operation in Ohio until the late 1800s. There is a short stretch in the Muskingum Valley near Zanesville still in operation today. By the 1850s, however, canals were losing business to the railroads. 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_B10F13_002_001
Subjects: Canals--Ohio; Ohio and Erie Canal (Ohio); Circleville (Ohio); Geography and Natural Resources; Transportation--Ohio
Places: Circleville (Ohio); Pickaway County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a houseboat, which is designed for human residence on the water. The caption beneath the photograph reads: "House Boat at Defiance, O., July, 1916." This photograph is part of a series taken by the Board of the Ohio Department of Public Works to document the disrepair of the infrastructure of the Ohio and Erie Canal and Miami-Erie Canal systems in 1916, showing the physical condition of each structure. The Ohio Department of Public Works is one of the oldest departments of state government in continuous existence. Among its other duties, this department was charged with maintenance and administration of the Ohio & Erie and Miami-Erie Canals. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA936AV_B01_040
Subjects: Waterworks; Rivers; Canals; Lakes & ponds; Dams; Houses; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Defiance (Ohio); Defiance County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image depicts the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company's Hubbard works. Pennsylvania & Lake Erie Railroad cars are pictured. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B02F23_011
Subjects: Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Hubbard works; Steel industry; Blast furnaces; Railroad cars; P&LE
Places: Hubbard (Ohio); Trumbull County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a wall at Indian Lake, used to protect and preserve land along the coasts of bodies of water. The caption beneath the photograph reads: "New Wall at Russell's Point, Near Bulkhead, Indian Lake." The attached description located on the back of the page reads: "PHOTOGRAPHS No's 89,90,94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 & 101.| INDIAN LAKE REVETMENT WALL.| A wall should be constructed from Russell Point to Lakeview along the bank of Indian Lake. The present bank has become disintegrated and is more than one-half washed away from its original cross section. Said bank is very weak and is subject to rupture at any time. This bank impedes the entire waters of Indian Lake and should it give away, Indian Lake would be drained. In addition to being very expensive to repair, the damage incurred by said break, would entail thousands of dollars, besides loss of life. The gap that should spanned with a concrete wall is 4968 Linear feet. The present driveway is dangerous, which located on top of said bank, owing to it being washed so badly as to make the road bed not over 10 ft. in width. The construction of a wall and a back fill of the same would create a boulevard along the lake at this point." This photograph is part of a series taken by the Board of the Ohio Department of Public Works to document the disrepair of the infrastructure of the Ohio and Erie Canal and Miami-Erie Canal systems in 1916, showing the physical condition of each structure. The Ohio Department of Public Works is one of the oldest departments of state government in continuous existence. Among its other duties, this department was charged with maintenance and administration of the Ohio & Erie and Miami-Erie Canals. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA936AV_B01_091
Subjects: Waterworks; Rivers; Canals; Lakes & ponds; Dams; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Russells Point (Ohio); Logan County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads, "Sail and Steam." The Eastern States, D&C passenger steamer pulls in back of the City of New York, Byrd ship at the 9 street docks. District #4, Cleveland Project Photographer: John Steinke, 1940" This is a photo of a passenger steamer pulling up behind a traditional schooner on Lake Erie. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F02_006_001
Subjects: Passenger ships; Lake Erie; Boats and Boating; Cleveland (Ohio)--Pictorial works; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: View of Main Street in Massillon, Ohio from "Historical Collections of Ohio" by Henry Howe, 1847. Massillon was settled as a port city along the Ohio and Erie Canal, on the east bank of the Tuscarawas River, in 1826. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04001
Subjects: Massillon (Ohio); Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Art, American--Ohio
Places: Massillon (Ohio); Stark County (Ohio)
 

Description: This illustration of the city of Akron appears in "Historical Collections of Ohio," published by Henry Howe in 1907. Akron was originally laid out in 1825 and in 1841 became the seat of Summit County. The name came from a Greek word meaning "an elevation" or "point." Originally, the community was located slightly south of its present location, in modern-day South Akron. Many of the town's earliest residents were Irish migrants employed to build the nearby Ohio and Erie Canal. After 1827, when the canal was completed between Akron and Cleveland, the community's business interests really began to prosper. Its location along the canal meant that many farmers brought their crops to Akron to be milled and then transported to other markets, and manufacturing interests such as mills, furnaces, and textiles also emerged. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04206
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Cities and towns--Ohio
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Johnson's Island, shown in an aerial here, was a military camp founded in 1862. Johnson's Island was a Union prison for Confederate officers during the American Civil War. It was located in Sandusky Bay of Lake Erie, near Sandusky, Ohio. The prison was built on this island for several reasons. Because of the island's isolated location, it would be very difficult for prisoners to escape. At the same time, the island was near several important Ohio cities and lines of road, rail and water transportation. It was relatively easy to acquire building supplies to construct the prison, as well as to secure food to feed the inmates. The prison at Johnson's Island opened in April 1862. It continued to house prisoners until September 1865. Estimates vary on the number of prisoners who spent time at Johnson's Island, but it is likely at least ten thousand men spent time there. Following the Civil War, federal officials sold the prison's buildings and land. Most of the island became farmland. By the 1950s, Johnson's Island became a residential community and a popular vacation spot. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06582
Subjects: Johnson's Island Prison Camp; Civil War--Prisoners and prisons; Lake Erie Islands (Ohio)
Places: Port Clinton (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)
 

Description: Fugitive slaves left Fairport Harbor to cross Lake Erie into Canada, where they could escape the bonds of slavery. This photograph was taken by W.S. Smith of Painesville, Ohio, in 1891. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03154
Subjects: Underground Railroad--Ohio; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Fairport (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)
 

Description: Christopher Columbus statue is located at the southwest corner of the Ohio State Capitol, which can be seen in the background of the photograph. The statue was originally placed on the grounds of the Pontifical College Josephenium by the school’s founder, Monsignor Joseph Jenning. When the seminary moved from its eastside location to a larger campus north of the city in 1932, the statue was given to the city and has been on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse ever since. Made by the W.H. Mullins Company in Salem, Ohio, the hollow statue is made of hammered copper plates attached by rivets. The date 1882 can be seen on the base, in the photograph. A new base, similar in appearance, but larger and grander, was made in 1992, in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage, as well as renaming the site where it stands Christopher Columbus Discovery Plaza. The Ohio State Capitol, located at 1 Capitol Square, is a 2 acre building which stands in a 10-acre park bounded by High, Broad, State, and Third Streets, in downtown Columbus. Also known as the Ohio Statehouse, Columbus residents would often take advantage of the wide green lawns by allowing their cows and horses to graze there during the night. Legislative action ended the use of the building for a stable in 1878, but newspaper reports show that they remained through the 1880's. The beauty of the massive limestone structure depends principally upon simplicity and strength, emphasized by a row of Doric columns at each of its four entrances. The dome is the result of a compromise. The original design called for a dome surrounded by a colonnade that would harmonize with the general architecture, but the plan never was carried out because of bickering by legislators over cost and details of construction. The cornerstone was laid in 1839, and although the building was occupied by some State departments in 1857, it was not completed until 1861, 22 years after it was begun. When Henry Walter of Cincinnati was appointed supervising architect in 1839, numerous plans for the building were considered and the one finally adopted was a composite. Both convict and private labor were used, and limestone was hauled from a quarry northwest of Columbus, purchased by the State to ensure enough material, on a railroad especially constructed for that purpose. Delays in securing State appropriations, a severe cholera epidemic, and labor difficulties retarded construction work, which at one time ceased for six years. Before the building was completed, five architects had served during the administrations of 12 governors. It is considered one of the country’s outstanding examples of the Greek Revival style and at the time, it was the second largest building, behind only the United States Capitol building. The total cost of the capitol approximated $1,650,000. An annex, directly east of the capitol and connected with it by a stone terrace, was completed in 1901 at a cost of $450,000. The capitol proper is 504 feet long and 184 feet wide, with 12 – 15 inches thick foundation walls. The annex, 220 feet long and 100 feet wide, conforms architecturally with the main building. A flight of 12 steps from each of the four entrances to the capitol leads to a central rotunda. Offices of the governor and other State officials flank the four marble-floored foyers. Elaborately carved woods, marbles from many lands, and paintings and sculpture by noted American artists adorn the interior. In the center of the inlaid marble floor of the rotunda are 13 blocks, each representing one of the thirteen original States, surrounded by three circles and a sunburst of 32 points, one for each State at the time the marble was laid. One circle represents the unorganized territory at the time the Union was formed; another, the Louisiana Purchase; and the third, the territory acquired in the war with Mexico. A fourth circle, enclosing the sunburst, symbolizes the Constitution. Battle flags of Ohio – many of them shell-torn and bearing other service scars – are displayed in cabinets. Large historical murals by William Mark Young adorn the rotunda and the walls flanking the four main stairways. The rich decorations ascending the dome culminate in an illuminated reproduction, in art glass, of the Great Seal of Ohio. Tablets at the entrances to the rotunda pay tribute to Andrews’ Raiders of the Civil War; to Major General Benson Hough, Ohio soldier and jurist; to soldiers and sailors of the Civil War; and to 51 women leaders in the feminist movement, including several Ohioans. Other tablets commemorate the sesquicentennial (1937) of the Northwest Territory and the founding of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (1899) in Columbus. Stairways lead from the floor of the rotunda to the Hall of Representatives and the Senate Chamber. At the head of the stairway on the north side stands the Lincoln Memorial, a bust of Lincoln executed by T.D. Jones. Directly to the east is a wall panel showing in relief a group of Union and Confederate officers who participated in the battle of Vicksburg. Outstanding among the capitol’s works of art is a large painting in the east foyer, Battle of Lake Erie, by William H. Powell. A copy of this paining is displayed in the nation’s Capitol. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F10_012
Subjects: Ohio Statehouse (Columbus, Ohio); Statues; Monuments; Ohio Government;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption on reverse reads: "Kennedy Ledges. Portage Co." This photograph shows a large boulder balancing on the edge of a cliff. In 1940, the state purchased land at Nelson Ledges, and in 1948, it bought 101 acres of the area known as Kennedy Ledges. The state of Ohio created Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park in 1949 to preserve the area. Nelson-Kennedy Ledges is popular for picnicking and hiking. The park, located on State Route 282 in Nelson Township, is near one of the highest points of the state and is close to the watershed divide between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. The rock formations at the 167-acre Nelson-Kennedy Ledges have become trademarks of the park. The sandstone cliff formations resulted from the forces of erosion — wind, water freezing and thawing — that wore away at the softer rock layers. As these soft layers eroded, large blocks of rock called slump blocks fell away leaving more resistant layers to form ledges above. Within the park are angled rock formations 50 to 60 feet high with ground fissures as deep as 60 feet. Cascade Falls and plant life typical of more northern climates can also be found at the park. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F02_028_001
Subjects: Parks--Ohio; State Parks--Ohio--Pictorial works. & reserves--Ohio--1930-1940; Nelson Ledges State Park
Places: Nelson Township (Ohio); Portage County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing Loramie wasteway, which is a channel that diverts excess water. The caption beneath the photograph reads: "Loramie Waste-way, July 1916." The attached description located on the back of the page reads: "PHOTOGRAPH No. 24.| LORAMIE WASTE WAY| Loramie Wasteway at Loramie reservoir controls the height of water in said reservoir. Spanning the top of this structure is a 3 ft. concrete walk which gives access to the control of flood gates. At this point during the winter season ice accumulates on said walk and passage to and from said gates is very dangerous, especially if a heavy wind exists. The department recommends the construction of a pipe hang rail across the same." TThis photograph is part of a series taken by the Board of the Ohio Department of Public Works to document the disrepair of the infrastructure of the Ohio and Erie Canal and Miami-Erie Canal systems in 1916, showing the physical condition of each structure. The Ohio Department of Public Works is one of the oldest departments of state government in continuous existence. Among its other duties, this department was charged with maintenance and administration of the Ohio & Erie and Miami-Erie Canals. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA936AV_B01_024
Subjects: Waterworks; Bridges; Canals; Rivers; Lakes & ponds; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Fort Loramie (Ohio); Shelby County (Ohio)