A Crowd Gathered in Milan in the 1890s (Mystery Photo)

In the late 1890s, amateur photographers from Milan, F.T. Cooke and K.P. Ruggles, took photographs of a crowd gathering to hear someone speak in front of an electric railway car. There was no information accompanying the original picture as to the people in the scene, or the reason for the gathering. The man speaking at the time was moving when the picture was taken, so his face is blurred. Several other men are sitting nearby on the speakers' platform.

As was the custom of the time, almost all the people were wearing hats. The ladies’ dresses were floor length. The streetcar was part of the Sandusky, Milan & Norwalk Electric Railway line that was in operation at that time. Frank T. Cooke moved from Milan to Oberlin, where he became an agent for the Eastman Kodak Company. Mr. Cooke worked as a photo finisher at the A.G. Comings and Son bookstore for several years. If anyone has more details about this scene from Milan, please leave a message in the comments section of this post.

Edit: If you look closely particularly at the second image you could see portraits of men, draped in bunting, suggesting that this might be a political rally of some sort. William McKinley ran for Governor in 1891 and President in 1896, but the visible portraits do not show his face. Could he be the blurred-faced man speaking? We don't know, but have some doubts.

Bouncing Owl Club on a Boat in the Bay

Several men and women were on a small boat near Meigs Street in Sandusky on September 20, 1908. The picture was entitled “Bouncing Owl Club.” What this club was and who its members were is unknown. In the background, the city water works plant is visible. (It appears that the water works plant was having some work done to the roof.) At this time, Theodore Roosevelt was nearing the end of his term as President of the United States. Sandusky had almost 20,000 residents, while Perkins was home to about 3500 people. Looking at the microfilmed copy of the Sandusky Register for September 20, 1908, the weather was fair on this date. The new Herb and Myers store announced its grand opening, and both Jessie Meenan and Carrie Freyensee advertised that their stores had recently received shipments of their new fall hats. Baseball games were being played at League Park, and members of the Shamrocks Baseball Club were going on an excursion to Leamington, Canada.

But we don't know anything about the Bouncing Owl Club. Do you?

Solution to Mystery Photos

Here is a picture of the Campbell School as it looked around 1894:

Here is a view of the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home (now the Ohio Veterans Home) administration building, around the same time:

And here is Sandusky High School as it looked around 1894:

Which just goes to show -- don't always trust what you read in print!

P.S. -- Here is the Erie County Courthouse around 1895:

Mystery Photos: What's Wrong With This Picture?

A publication called "Royal Blue Line": A Descriptive Souvenir of the Columbus, Sandusky, and Hocking Railway (The Sandusky Division), was produced in 1894 to promote the attractions and major businesses in the cities along this rail line. There was a substantial chapter on Sandusky, which included images of many local scenes. Here is a page from that chapter:

Do you notice anything wrong with this page? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments.

Here is an unrelated bit of trivia from the same publication, from the chapter on Marion, Ohio. Do you notice anything interesting about this?

Mystery Photos: Identify the Scene

In the Sandusky Library Archives is a small collection of stereographs from the early 1870s, collected and described by Leroy Hinkey. Over the next few months (unless I forget), we'll use some of those images here in the blog as "Mystery Photos." Let's start with a relatively easy one (or maybe not):

Can you describe where this scene is? From where was it taken? How many landmarks can you identify?

Here is a crop of a single frame, which might make it a little easier to see things. (The original is not of great quality).

Update: Told you it was an easy one. Our first commenter had the correct answer. It shows the corner of Columbus Avenue and (what is now) East Adams Street, viewed from the courthouse. Some of the buildings in the scene are still standing today, nearly 140 years later, although some have been modified. In the left forground is the Emmanuel Church. It was expanded in the 1950s, and had been remodeled well before then as well. In the background, you can see homes on Wayne Street that are still recognizable, including the Follett House, the Moss house, and Hubbard houses. In the distance is the German Reformed Church, now the site of First Faith Community Church.

Mystery Photo: An Early Gas Station

Here is a view of the Cities Service Oil Co. filling station, circa 1920. Who knows where it was?

(The answer is posted in the comments.)

Mystery Photos: Shoe Stores in Sandusky (or Elsewhere?)

Some of the most interesting photos in the library's collections are the ones we know little or nothing about. Here are three photographs of shoe stores that fit that description. We assume that these are scenes from Sandusky, but we don't know for sure. Do they look familiar to you? We can try to guess some things about the images by looking closely at the details in the picture. It is probably safe to say that the picture above was taken in the late 19th or early 20th century, judging from the design of the store and the clothes of the men. The original image is not sharp enough for us to read the signs in the background, but sometimes reading the signs might help you identify an unidentified image.

The next image is certainly from a later period than the first, judging from the more "modern" appearance of the store and the salesman. We can read some of the signs (the one in the center says: "Our terms are cash. These prices positively do not warrant any extension of credit."), but they don't really help us to locate this store. But as for the date, do you think, around 1920?

This is probably the most recent of the images, but perhaps not too far in time from the previous one. 1930s, perhaps? Clothing and shoe styles help to date this photo. (Look at the really short tie of the man on the right, for example.) Again, we don't have much else in the photo to help us determine the location of the store. We do see the prices for the shoes, which makes the scene even more interesting, and might be helpful for any shoe historians who view the image.

If you have any observations of your own -- especially if you recognize any of these stores or people -- feel free to add your comments.

Mystery Photos (Back by Popular Demand)

It's been a long time since we posted a "mystery photo" (still looking for good ones). This one comes with an extra question:Where was this photo taken? What is the significance of this scene?

You can post your answers in the comments. If no one guesses, we'll post the correct answer in a few days.

Update: Here is a related photo that might give you a little hint (or it might not).

Update II: One More Hint. (The first two were a little too obscure, weren't they?) . . .

Answer: These scenes show what it looked like before and during the construction of the Cedar Point Causeway in 1956. The first image shows the view from First Street looking into the clearing being cut in the woods for the road. The second image is at Venetian Drive and First Street, with the bay in the background. The third image shows the roadway being built, circa April 1956. (The Library owns a set of more than 200 photographs showing various stages of the construction of the causeway.)This image showed how it looked in 1953, before construction began. Prior to the completion of the causeway, the only access to Cedar Point was via the chaussee or by boat.

Mystery Photo: An Easy One

It's been too busy here to post much lately, so I thought I'd do a quick "Mystery Photo." It probably won't be very difficult for most people, but I thought the view is interesting -- significantly different than it looks now.

Update: It looks like the secret is out. If you haven't seen Jason Werling's blog on the Sandusky Register website yet, go take a look at his "before and after" picture, taken from the top floor of the Feick Building.

It looks like we had a "ringer" in the comments. The photo above was taken from the Feick building in 1923. The large stone builing on Water Street was a winery, but it was probably the Engels & Krudwig Winery; the Dorn Winery was a block further east.

Mystery Photos: Guess the Location

Here is another "mystery photo" where you're invited to guess where this picture was taken. It looks a lot different now, about 115 years after this image was taken.
As always, feel free to give your opinions in the comments link. I'll post the answer within a week or so, unless someone beats me to it.

Mystery Photos: Guess the Location

We haven't had a Mystery Photos posting in a long time, so let's have one now. Here is a photo of a railroad crossing in Sandusky. Do you recognize the location?Here are a couple of other scenes, in the same area. (I covered over the street signs in one picture, so you can't cheat!)
Feel free to take your guess in the comments section. I will post the answer in the comments within a few days.

The answer is in the comments section.

Mystery Image: Washington Park as it Never Was

We recently received a donation of a drawing of Washington Park from an out-of-town collector who has never been in Sandusky. She thought it would be an interesting item for our collections, showing a view of the city from 1921. It certainly is an interesting view -- but it is a scene that never existed in reality.

The image shows a slightly elevated view of Washington Park, from Wayne Street, down Washington Street. We can see several landmarks that were familiar to residents in 1921: on the left is Sandusky High School, with its top floor still there; beyond that we see the Erie County Courthouse as it looked before its remodeling in the 1930s; on the right is the Kingsbury Block, the Sloane House Hotel, Odd Fellows Hall, and the Presbyterian Church.

The strange part of this drawing is in the center of the picture: We see Washington Street as a boulevard, with landscaped medians and a monument at the center of the intersection with Jackson Street. Of course, this plan was never built, but what is the story behind its creation? What we do know about this drawing is that the donor found it in a photo album that was originally owned by Jessie A. Spieker-Fritz, who lived on Camp Street in Sandusky. The 1923 city directory says that she was a secretary for the Brown Clutch Company. This would help to explain how she came to have a copy of this drawing: In the lower right corner of the image, we see that the drawing was designed by T.T. Morgan and drawn by Charles Hottmann; Morgan was the president of the Brown Clutch Company and Hottmann was a superintendent there.

As to why the picture was drawn and why the plan was not implemented, those questions are still mysteries. Was Morgan part of a planning committee for the city, or were he and Hottmann simply interested citizens with an idea? Was this plan ever formally considered by the city? Further research is needed to find the answers.

Viewing this image raises another question for me: You notice in the background the monument in the intersection, most likely intended as a civic monument or war memorial. Have you noticed that in nearly every city or town in Ohio (and, it seems, in most American communities settled in the 19th century), there is a major civic monument in a prominent public square, sometimes several, usually built in the 19th century or early 20th century? Have you noticed that there is no grand civic monument from that time in Sandusky? (Some monuments have been built downtown in recent years of course.) Why did early Sanduskians not follow the trend of most communities of the time, and build a great war memorial or other monument? Any thoughts?

Happy Leap Year!

As you know, 2008 is a leap year, when we have an extra day on the calendar, February 29. Some also recognize these years as a time for certain quadrennial events, such as the Olympics and the presidential campaign season. (Although nowadays the campaigns seem to not just occur every four years, but to last for four years.)

In the nineteenth century, in particular, it was also the time for Leap Year Parties. Here is a scene from a Leap Year Party held in Sandusky 142 years ago, on Friday, January 21, 1876. Unfortunately, we do not have much detail on the party itself. The photograph was donated to the library in 1928 by Fred Woolsey, who is seated at the left in the picture. He went on to become the owner of the Woolsey Wheel Company in Sandusky. The other men are: Charles Mills, Albert Rosenbaum, Charles Johnson, Dr. Gibson, Sam Ferris, and D.W.C. Brown, Jr. Why these men are wearing ribbons and handkerchiefs fastened to their clothes is unclear, but it might have something to do with a leap year tradition. . . .

Legend holds that on leap year days (some say the entire leap year), it was socially acceptable for women to propose marriage to men; any other time of the year, etiquette and custom dictated that only men were allowed to propose marriage. Also, it became a tradition to have Leap Year parties, where the women invited the men to be their dates and dance partners, and were in charge of the festivities. (Some claim that that is where the idea for Sadie Hawkins dances came from.) We can only speculate, but perhaps the handkerchiefs and ribbons symbolize the men's position as secondary to the women on that day. Any thoughts?

Mystery Photo, and International Drum Month

According to my "Simpsons" calendar, today begins International Drum Month. In commemoration, I thought I'd use this as an opportunity to reintroduce the "Mystery Photos" feature of the blog. Here is a mystery photo, with drums:

All we know for certain (or more accurately, what we can safely assume from appearance) is that the photo was taken by the W.A. Bishop studio in Sandusky, probably in the 1880s or 1890s. Willard Bishop was a prominent local photographer, who arrived in Sandusky from his native Indianapolis as a young man in 1880. During his long career in Sandusky (he died in 1940), he was perhaps best known as the photographer of "society" and the prominent people within it.

The men in the photo apparently are from a drum section of a marching band -- with the drum major holding the baton, and the rest with their drums. Marching bands were a popular form of entertainment in American culture before the advent of the phonograph and the radio.

Do you recognize anything that could help identify this photo? Do you think you could make up a reasonable story for this picture?

"Mystery Photos" Returns

We promised that "Mystery Photos" would be a regular feature of the blog -- where we show you images from the collections that might not be easily recognizable to you, and of unknown origins. We haven't had a mystery photo on the blog in quite a while, so here is one for you:

Looking at the reception desk and the pigeon-hole cabinet behind the desk clerks, it seems rather clear that it is the lobby of a hotel. (You may not be able to see it, but a sign above the cabinet is addressed to "guests.") But which hotel is it? We have no information with this photograph as to where it was taken. Any ideas?

We do know that one of the ladies in the photo is Miss Mary Spier -- it might be possible, with a bit of research, to learn more about Miss Spier -- using the Ancestry genealogy database, for example. We can make a reasonable "guesstimate" of the time period of this photo by looking at things such as the "candlestick" telephone on the counter; these phones were popular mainly in the 1910s and 1920s. A map expert might be able to date the photo by the map on the wall. (Not me.)

Remember: just because you don't know all the details about a photograph, it doesn't mean it's worthless. Every image offers a description of life; it's just up to you to figure out what they are saying.

So where was this hotel? Your ideas are welcome.

Mystery Photos: Know Where This Is?

After a hiatus, the "Mystery Photos" game is back. Here are two photos showing different views of the same location. It looks a lot different today, but if you look very closely, you might be able to recognize where it is.
Hints: Both pictures were taken in March 1955, and the scenes in the images are within the city limits of Sandusky.

The answer is in the comments section.

Do you know where this is? Part Two

Here is the latest in our series of "guess the location" photos. . . This is a road in Erie County that still exists, but looks quite different today.



The answer is posted in the comments section.

Do you know where this is?

It looks a lot different today, but it's an intersection in Erie County.

The answer is in the comments section.

Mysterious People

The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has a collection of about 10,000 photographic images documenting many facets of the history of Sandusky, Erie County, the Lake Erie islands, and the Firelands region. Nearly all of these pictures have been donated to the library over the last 100+ years by local residents, former residents, and the historically-minded. However, some of these images have lost their 'stories' -- the names of the people in them have been long forgotten, the event depicted has been lost from memory, or we aren't sure anymore where or why the picture was taken. Nevertheless, these images are still important to us in helping to describe the early days of the community and culture.

The names of the women pictured above are unknown to us. What we do know about this image is that it was taken by the C.A. Cross studio in Sandusky. Charles Cross operated a photography business on Columbus Avenue in Sandusky from about 1880 until the late 1890s. We don't know the ladies' names, but they still can tell us things about life in the late nineteenth century. Does this photo tell you anything?

The Archives Research Center has a number of cartes-de-visite, which were used as photographic calling cards in the early days of print photography. (The peak years of the carte-de-visite were roughly from around 1860 to the 1880s.) Here is a sample of cartes-de-visite from the library's collections. Again, the names of the people and the story of their lives is unknown, but their images still can tell us something.

Both of these images were taken at the Wetherell Studio in Sandusky, probably in the mid-1880s.

(We will have more about the early history of photography -- and mystery photos -- in later entries.)