The Library of Congress’ American Memory Collection is a rich place for those interested in the history of Ohio cities and towns. Included in its online collections, which can be easily (and freely) accessed, are the following:

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic America Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) -- HABS/HAER is a National Park Service program which has catalogued the country’s historic architecture since 1933. Included in the collection are photographs, scaled drawings, and other documentation for hundreds of Ohio historic resources. In some cases, as with the Curtis-Devin House in Mount Vernon, the Arcade Building in Springfield and others, these tell the architectural story of long-gone pieces of Ohio history.

Panoramic Maps – It was all the rage in late 19th century America – detailed maps of cities that included meticulously drawn representations of every house and building. While almost every Ohio city had a panoramic map created during this period – many more than once – over 45 are accessible on the Library of Congress site, and each provides a “snapshot in time” of community life.

Panoramic Photographs – Examples of these large photographs in the American Memory Collection include a view of 1913 flood damage in the City of Delaware, the first internment ceremony for President Warren G. Harding in Marion, a 1912 wide-angled view of Public Square in downtown Cleveland, and many others.

Touring Turn-of-the-Century America – These views from the turn of the last century have large concentrations from Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and, of all places, Put-in-Bay.

Other Ohio-related collections include films from the visit of President McKinley to the Pan-American Exposition (where he was assassinated) selections from the papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright, and a variety of materials from the Chautauqua Circuits that crossed the Buckeye State in the early 20th century.

Photo:  Detail, Downtown Toledo Panoramic Map, 1876, from Library of Congress American Memory Collection/Public Domain