Cantwell Cliffs steps photograph   Save
Ohio Guide Collection
Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows an aerial view of a hiking trail near Cantwell Cliffs at Hocking Hills State Park in Logan, Ohio. A note on its reverse reads "Foot trail, Cantwell Cliffs Park, Hocking State Forest." Cantwell Cliffs, one of the six major features of Hocking Hills State Park, is known for its rock formations including deep valleys, cliffs, and rock shelters. In 1924, the state of Ohio purchased 146 acres in the Hocking Hills that became Hocking Hills State Park in 1949. In 1972, the park added a dining lodge and cabins. Hocking Hills State Park is known for its geologic features of blackhand sandstone, including Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, and Rock House. 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_B07F04_002_1
Subjects: Hocking Hills State Park (Ohio); State parks and reserves; Hiking; Outdoor recreation
Places: Hocking State Forest (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio)