Ohio Memory Today: A Spotlight on Partners

One of the pleasures of being an Ohio Memory staff member is working with our partners! Currently, Ohio Memory has 48 active partners covering all regions of the state, including government agencies, public libraries, university archives, museums, and local history organizations. Although the Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio provide a substantial portion of Ohio Memory’s content, partner organizations are what round out the overall corpus of Ohio Memory, often contributing unique stories of their towns’ histories and the people who built them.

The thousands of photographs, letters, government records, newspapers, and much more from our partners are often local in scope, but together all these stories paint a broader picture of Ohio throughout its history, and make Ohio Memory an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and anyone who loves Ohio history as much as we do. Here is a sample of recently added partner materials from across the state.

Northwest Ohio

This 1905 photograph (seen at left) of beachgoers exiting a trolley at the entrance of Rye Beach is one of the many historic photographs available in the Huron Historical Society Digital Collection. As summer trips to Rye Beach Park look much differently today, it’s exciting to see how spaces we enjoy now were experienced by past generations. Browse the Huron Historical Society’s collection for photographs of local businesses, historic buildings, local landmarks, and social events, ranging from the early 1800s to 2010s.

Also from northwest Ohio, Rossford Public Library recently added a large number of athletic and drama club programs from Rossford High School, which complement the more than 100 yearbooks in its digital collection. Rossford Public Library has also made available Country and Town, a weekly journal published and edited in Rossford.

Northeast Ohio

Grand Valley Public Library’s Valley Memories digital collection showcases photographs of daily life, local businesses, and historic buildings throughout the Grand Valley region, as well as yearbooks from local schools. Grand Valley Public Library also manages the Valley News Collection, which contains the area’s local newspaper throughout its history from 1878-1935, and has recently partnered with Windsor Historical Society to digitize some of its photograph collections, which are now available on Ohio Memory.

Central Ohio

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Collection contains publications and safety posters produced by the Division of Safety & Hygiene. Intended to prevent workplace accidents and injuries, and reduce workers’ compensation costs, the posters and poster stickers provide an interesting glimpse into the industrial workplace atmosphere from the 1920s through present day, and are entertaining to look through! The BWC Collection also includes over 800 issues of the Ohio Monitor, a monthly bulletin published under the direction of the Division of Safety & Hygiene for the Industrial Commission of Ohio from 1928-1990 and the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation from 1990-1997.

Southern Ohio

Athens, Ohio, is the home of the Southeast Ohio History Center, which houses museum and archival collections, as well as a robust history and genealogy library. The Southeast Ohio History Center Digital Collection documents the region’s rich military history, particularly World War I, the coal mining industry, photographs of local businesses and street views, and Ohio University. The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and Mount St. Joseph University, both located in southwestern Ohio, document the history of the Sisters of Charity and Catholic higher education in Cincinnati in their respective Ohio Memory collections. Read more about these institutions’ legacies and archival collections in this blog post!

Our various partners add new content throughout the year. To learn more about Ohio Memory collections, and to hear about new partner submissions, browse Ohio Memory and check our blog for updates!

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Thanks to Kristen Newby, Digital Projects Coordinator at the Ohio History Connection, for this week’s post!

Ohio Memory is celebrating 20 years! Visit our blog all year long to learn more about our program, partners and collections.