Description: Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows the Anthony Wayne Treaty Memorial in Darke County, Ohio, which commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville, with a note on the reverse which reads "Anthony Wayne Treaty Memorial. W. Main St. near spot where treaty was signed." General Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the nickname of "Mad" Anthony Wayne. On August 20, 1794, an American army commanded by Anthony Wayne defeated an American Indian Confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. In January 1795, representatives from the various tribes met with Wayne at Fort Greene Ville. The Americans and natives spent the next eight months negotiating a treaty. It became known as the Treaty of Greeneville. On August 3, 1795, leaders of the Wyandotte, Delaware, Shawnee, Ottawa, Miami, Eel River, Wea, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Piankashaw, and the Kaskaskia formally signed the treaty. Many American Indian groups refused to honor the agreement. White settlers continued to move onto the contested land. Violence continued between them and Native American leaders like Tecumseh and the Prophet would emerge in the early 1800s to carry on the Indian struggle to regain their lost land. 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_B01F05_009
Subjects: Military Ohio; American Indians in Ohio; Treaty of Greenville; Memorials--Ohio; Wayne, Anthony, 1745-1796
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio)