A corner on the market in Dayton, patent pending of course!

Dayton, Ohio sits along I-75 a short hour's drive north of Cincinnati. While noted for the Wright Brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dayton at one point was the center of the nation when it came to technology and design. Today the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (see right, click to enlarge) lets you step back in time on a corner where the spirit of innovation not just soared, but was started, inked and cashed too.

The Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical (web, map) lies about one mile west of downtown, and encompasses the historic Wright Brothers Cycle Complex building, the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center and the Aviation Trail Visitor Center & Musesum, at the corners of W. 3rd & S. Williams St. in Dayton (see left, click to enlarge). The park is dedicated primarily to the Wright Brothers with a healthy dose of Dunbar added, but there are other elements of Dayton's legacy included in the museum.

An replicated building that housed the fifth Wright Brothers Cycle Company (see left, click to enlarge) serves as a museum piece, and includes many displays of recreated bicycles produced by the Wright Brothers, including the legendary Van Cleve series (see below-right, click to enlarge). The Wright Brothers did not make bicycles, but rather assembled what they felt were the best pieces to form their own creations. Sadly no originals are left to display at the museum. The rear of the building shows a recreated workshop, where their flight engineering developed in their spare time. Henry Ford purchased, dissambled and re-assembled the original cycle shop and house that was a few blocks away at his Greenfield Village museum complex in Detroit.

A short walk across a nicely designed plaza places a visitor at the entrance of the Aviation Trail Visitor Center and Museum. This entrance was built onto the existing and renovated structure that originally housed the Wright Brother's second story print shop and the family's ground level general store. Design elements entice the visitor with enticing architecture and massive graphics of the Wrights and Dunbar (see right, click to enlarge).

An oversize billboard on the building southern facing wall graces the plaza (see right, click to enlarge) and was reproduced from a local newspaper touting the brothers' return in the early 1900's from a European business trip. The Wrights were manipulative entrepreneurs and after successfully mastering powered flight, shut down their test flights to keep their designs private. They then embarked on visits to here and abroad looking to sell their designs for military use. Dayton threw a massive celebration upon return home after one of these junkets.

The two-story museum is unique in that several rooms are recreated as they were a century ago. The general store is laid out in one room as it was then. Lost to the casual visitor is a fanciful and antique cash register amid the shelves of goods (see right, click to enlarge). It was in Dayton where the cash register was born and improved, first by James Ritty and John Birch in 1883, then by John Patterson later, who founded the National Cash Register company -- today known simply as NCR.

Unknown to many, Dayton had, and still claims to have, more patents per capita than any other place on the planet. There are over 100 patents laying claim to Dayton, Ohio on file with the government. Charles Kettering added power components to the cash register, but later is better known for letting the ladies get a chance behind the wheel of the horseless carriage. It was Kettering's idea to add an electric starter to an automobile, removing the labor-intensive hand-cranking to start the engine.

Between the Wrights and Kettering, these Dayton men engendered a gender revolution. Bicycles and automobiles allowed the ladies to move about as well, and bicycle trends signaled a change in fashion trends for long skirts and bicycles are not compatible. Bloomers became a new fashion style for Victorian ladies.

While Paul Laurence Dunbar's contribution to history lay principally in his poetry and literature, his connection to the Wright Brothers is sometimes also lost to history. Unfortunately young people tend to learn history in compartmentalized themes and authors and poets do not typically show up in the same chapter as technological advancements at the same time. Friends through attending classes at Dayton Central High, the Wright Brothers second floor print shop was where Dunbar self-published his own newspaper, The Tattler (see right, click to enlarge). Oddly the University of Dayton's Dunbar website is silent on the relationship between he and the Wrights.

Orrville and Paul had become best friends and shared political similar political ideals. One of the second floor rooms is devoted solely to Dunbar. The remainder of the second floor museum pays homage to the timeline of flight, including a nice display where one do a photo-op appearing as though parachuting from the sky.

A small theater on the ground floor runs a 30-minute biography on the Wright Brothers that tells more of the story of powered flight than people tend to know. Another flaw in the teaching of history is that when an accomplishment is reached and shared, the story ends in favor of the next event in history. There was much more to the Wright's story following Kittyhawk's first flight and it was centered in Dayton.

The final element to the park is a good 20 minute drive northeast, and the location where the Wrights did their test flights of the powered Wright Flyer. Today Huffman Prairie Field is encircled by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, but access to the historic landmark does not require entering the base. Bounded by a series of large white flags, as they were over 100 years ago, the field contains a recreated shed and catapult tower and track (see right, click to enlarge). The lack of an ocean breeze hindered getting their first planes airborn and the ingenuity of a catapult -- not far removed from how aircraft are launched from aircraft carriers today -- soon followed.

Dayton's place in history is rooted in flight, but it is the innovation of its citizens that literally -- and metaphorically -- cornered the market on technology.

J.

Dishing the dirt... on coal in Guernsey County

You will be hard-pressed to gain a better understanding of the life of a coal miner than a 10-mile trek along the rails winding south and west through Guernsey County along the Byesville Scenic Railway (see right, click to enlarge). Just two miles south of the I-70 and I-77 interchange, Byesville is a stop along the Marietta & Pennsylvania Railroad and later the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O).

It is the combination of Ohio's earthen riches (coal) and transportation routes that make Guernsey County significant to history. Zane's Trace, a government funded trail in the late 1790s, was constructed to open up the lands of Ohio and Kentucky to the east, passed directly through the county. Zane's Trace became the National Road, and eventually U.S. 40, and further developed as an interstate (I-70) in the 1960s through the Eisenhower Interstate System. Just as the interstate system bisects the county, so do the rail lines moving significant amounts of cargo through Ohio to the Great Lakes and beyond.

The Byesville Scenic Railroad (BSR) offers a casual (about 12 mph) trip along the Marietta & Pittsburgh and B&O lines, beginning in its namesake, Byesville (see right, click to enlarge). The town's growth a hundred years ago was due to the high volume of coal workers in the area descending upon the city. Following the Civil War, coal mining became a huge endeavor in and around Byseville with dozens of mines being operated (see full history of Guernsey County). The city was incorporated in 1882 with a mere 300 people and today stands at 2,500 according to 2000 census totals. Between its incorporation and the height of the coal era, over 12,000 people (mostly coal miners in the region) are said to have visited town for shopping and entertainment.

The newly built station in Byesville (see left, click to enlarge) is the starting (and concluding) point for the rail excursion. Still being finished in the summer of 2010 were what appeared to be permanent offices, restrooms and souvenir shop. Here, passengers climb aboard one of several old rail cars, some originally built in 1918, nestled behind the purple and black diesel locomotive replete with logos of the BSR. Recently flooding severely damaged rails along the route, but despite this the BSR, certainly not immune to the modern economic difficulties of non-profit organizations, rebuilt the sections and operates normal tours and special excursions.

The cars (see left, click to enlarge) are spacious with ceilings that would be high for even modern luxurious homes. The windows, although aged, open and hold at different heights. It is recommended that passengers refrain from sticking anything out the window as the windows are heavy and dislodging from the set height could seriously hurt an appendage -- not to mention at several points objects along the railbed are very close (bridge trestles) or brush the cars (shrubs and branches). Looking at the details of the near century old passenger car one can find details of craftmanship that are noted on hinges, fasteners and latches (see right, click to enlarge).

The southern five mile route is a leisurely roll through gentle countryside but also economic hard times. From the windows can be seen sweeping hills, open wetlands and struggling local areas in another part of Ohio hard hit after industry has moved on. Through a wireless microphone and a speaker swaying dizzily from a mount on the car's ceiling mid-train, a narrator talks of the railroad, the landscape, the people of the area and a little about coal mining.

Some of the wetlands passed are more recent, as mother nature is reclaiming abandoned coal mines as collapsing roofs and mineshafts lead to natural flooding of the freshly created lowlands.

The area and people have seen tough times, and is evidenced by some of the sites seen outside the car's window. A few makeshift memorials are passed along the way for those who gave their lives in the grueling and dangerous occupation of coal mining (see left, click to enlarge). There is a movement by the BSR to construct a permanent memorial in Byesville that tributes coal miners.

Along the way the narrator jokes about the "local airport", where at one of the homes passed an old plane fuselage sits at the rear of the property either in storage or awaiting restoration. Another property showcases what looks like a 1950s gas station, with vintage pumps, building and signage -- and even the frame of an appropriate era car (see right, click to enlarge).

The train settles to a stop (see left, click to enlarge) about 8 miles from another Ohio tourist destination, The Wilds (web, previous blog entry). The wildlife preserve, operated by the Columbus Zoo, is located in Cumberland, Ohio and future plans (already under way) are to connect the BSR with the Wilds to give tourists a chance for a train ride on their visit to the preserve. The seats are here reversed in the cars (to keep a forward view of the activities) and the narrator undertakes a transformation.

The return trip, giving the tourist an alternative from much of the same vistas just encountered out the window, is an entirely different experience. The narrator applies some make-shift make-up to take on the look of a coal miner complete with tools (see left, click to enlarge). He enters into more of a first-person role and the following hour is time well spent back in history and deep underground. A little Johnny Cash provides the soundtrack at the beginning of Act II (as it were), as the strains of "owe my soul to the company store" (from Sixteen Tons, an often recorded folk song) set the tone for this trip back in time and back to Byseville.

Such personal interaction with the working conditions that were harsh (coal dust, trapped gases, flooding, etc.) to treatment that was less than ideal (payment of 10 cents a ton) and work that wasn't always constant (see right, click to enlarge) provides a stark contrast to the serene first half of the excursion. One learns of how the company store owned the worker, where payment (done in scrip) was redeemed only at that store and even homes were built on future scrip credit. All of the miners working tools, clothes, lunch pail, etc. were bought from his own pocket... and at the company store. As the narrator implies, it was essentially a form of slavery or indentured servitude.

It is a wonderful ride back in time, and the entire return trip feels like an authentic journey to a place a century ago where workers toiled long and hard, prying from thin and long veins in the earth the raw materials that would propel America into post-war Prosperity. Often overlooked is that many a men chose a different wartime path of patriotism by going into the mines to provide the literal fuel that would fire a nation's industry in wartime. The planned memorial seems all the more fitting upon arrival back in Byesville.

It's another of Ohio's intriguing place in history that can be found just minutes off the highway, along roads travelled hundreds of years by countless individuals.

- J.

A real pottery barn... and then some!

East Liverpool, Ohio, is an Ohio River city at the point where the river first defines the state's border with West Virginia and Pennsylvania (see map). Its population is just over 13,000 people (as of the 2000 Census) and a drive in and around town masks the national, if not international, importance the town played for an entire industry. The decaying buildings and factories struggle to find tenants and uses, but a century ago East Liverpool was the place to be if you wanted to succeed in ceramics (see right, click to enlarge).

Founded not long after Ohio was first

settled, East Liverpool's birth was in 1800 as the town of St. Clair until the 1830's and a transition to its modern name (more history here). An English potter, journeying from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati in 1840, stopped at East Liverpool and was impressed that the outlying land was rich with clay. He abandoned his journey at set up shop and soon the area swelled with potteries (see left, click to enlarge). By 1860 over 20 different companies had set up in town with the tell-tale conical brick kilns serving as a unique quasi-skyline along the river. Potteries continued to grow in numbers through the 1880s, where at one point in time over 50% of all pottery in the U.S. was being manufactured in East Liverpool.

The town was a thriving economic center and a sketched map (the Google Map of its day) showed a city stretching far and wide with little vacant land (1876 picture here). Overlooking the river, the (then) modern school was a large, three-story building with matching bell towers. Today the only remnants of that structure is a non-descript, single-story Board of Education building sitting in the footprint of the former school with one bell tower serving as a bridge between the past and present (see left, click to enlarge).

The former U.S. Post Office has been creatively turned into the the Museum of Ceramics (see right, click to enlarge), an Ohio Historical Society property managed locally by the Museum of Ceramics Foundation.

Originally opened in 1909, the post office featured ornately decorated domed ceilings (see left, click to enlarge) and a beautiful marble and terrazzo floor. In 1970 the post office moved across town and the State of Ohio purchased the building in anticipation of a museum that began later on-site in 1980.

The museum is a traditional museum (see left, click to enlarge), where there are many displays and dioramas, but there is little hands on for younger visitors. A small theater offers a short video on the growth of the pottery works in the region and the different types of pottery found on display in the museum.

The wide array of pottery showcased ranges from simple every day uses to luxury and elite works. There is a large sample of Lotus Ware on display, which is considered the finest porcelain made in the U.S. (see right, click to enlarge)

The first signs of decline in the industry came from the increase in indoor plumbing and bathrooms. The traditional washroom of a chamber pot, container and pitcher used for cleaning up were no longer the standard in most homes. By 1900 a large portion of clay was being brought into East Liverpool rather than dug locally, but the industry still flourished.

As with a lot of industry in Ohio, companies moved on to greener pastures by the mid 1900s and East Liverpool has since struggled to find economic success. The population topped out at 25,000 in 1950 and has steadily declined since. But proximity to both Pittsburgh (one hour)

and Cleveland (90 minutes) still place East Liverpool in a good location and there is still pottery manufacturing in town. While PNC bank may now operate in the centennial (1881) Potters Bank and Trust building (see left, click to enlarge), the library built by industrialist Andrew Carnegie (see right, click to enlarge) still operates 100 years later and appears ready to take on the next 100.

-J.

Little Cities of Black Diamonds

Mother nature blessed Ohio with many natural resources, but none had the same immediate economic impact as coal did in Southeastern Ohio. The veins of coal that run through hills around Athens, Ohio led to an economic boom prior to the dawn of the 20th Century and turned a series of sleepy little hollows into thriving communities. But as quickly as these towns boomed, shifting coal mining technology turned many of these towns into literal ghost towns while others struggle still today to survive.

In the late 1800s, coal was being excavated from the hills of Southeast Ohio through hard, tedious and dangerous human labor. A day's wage was dependent upon how much good coal a worker could produce, often at a rate of 10 cents a ton. But that also was for quality coal, not just shale and other bits of less valuable rock. Between dangerous working conditions and disputes over wages, coal workers had a rough life.

The tri-county area of Athens, Perry and Hocking Counties is the geographic home to the Little Cities of Black Diamonds region. It is one of the poorest areas of Ohio, if not the entire country. Trying to find viable opportunities for economic growth is challenging enough, but trying to revitalize historic structures is harder yet. But little by little, at almost a glacier-like pace, the Little Cities are finding ways to transform history into economic opportunity.

Driving by Rendville, Ohio (map, history) at 60 mph on Ohio Route 13, you would hardly think this was a town. But at the turn of the century Rendville's population was at 2,000 (see photo here), of which 300 were African-Americans. In 1884 there averaged a bar for every 24 people in the town. Comparatively, the 2000 Census shows a population of 46 people in 12 households. Today Main Street is barely 500 feet long and has six different properties, of which one is a circa 1860s church (see top left, click to enlarge) and another a condemned home (see right, click to enlarge) being renovated as a project by students and nearby Ohio Univesity.

Today the church serves as a beacon of a different sort, one of how to find a new use for a historic property. The church (see left, click to enlarge) has been turned into a combination workshop and folk art studio for disadvantaged adults (YouTube video here). Each day students work in conjunction with volunteers to produce various folk art treasures that are offered for public sale. The church still retains its original tin ceiling and steeple.

Just under 10 miles to the west at the junction of Ohio 93 and 155 is another of the Little Cities, the town of Shawnee (map, historic pictures). The story of each of the Little Cities is similar to the other, where the enterprise of coal built a town, followed by its near abandonment as the coal ran out. Route 155 has now bypassed the city, but only by several hundred feet. Driving this route will reveal a glimpse of huge murals on the back side of the buildings along the main street.

Shawnee, however, has unique architectural features that place a style with the region. Along the main street nearly all of the buildings have second story porches that overhang the sidewalk (see left, click to enlarge). The arching supports to each are very distinct and unlike other places. Preservation efforts are being attempted to maintain the look of the downtown, but with the state of economics in the region the task is monumental.

The jewel of downtown Shawnee is the Tecumseh Opera House (see left, click to enlarge). The cavernous second floor theater rivals the size of any modern day theater (an individual theater, not the complex) and is said to have hosted basketball games on its floor. It is the tallest structure in Perry County and nearly did not survive modern times. During the 1970s the building was slated for demolition to reclaim the steel. But the building was saved and is being slowly renovated with the hopes of restoring to full operational condition (see right, click to enlarge). While it may seem unusual to see such a grand theater (at one point) in such a remote and depressed area, during their prime time just about each of the Little Cities had one, if not two, opera houses for entertaining the coal miners and families.

A block down from the Tecumseh is a rather unique and creative re-usage of a detoriating property. One of the vacant storefronts suffered a roof collapse and the cost to repair was prohibitive for a building with no tenant and no prospects for use. So the entire roof and second floor were demolished and a garden planted, open to the sky. It is an unusual feeling to walk through a storefront doorway and see plants and trees and look up to the sky (see left and right, click to enlarge).

Shawnee is the home for the Little Cities of Black Diamonds organization and across from the Tecumseh is a gift shop and just down the block the offices of the non-profit community-based organization. The group has secured federal grants to assist in their revitalization attempts.

A few miles down Ohio 93 is New Straitsville (map, pictures). While the storyline is much the same here, both in the boom and bust of the town, there is a unique aspect that burns even as time marches forward. The volatile relationship between labor and management led to numerous coal strikes. The unofficial birthplace of the United Mineworkers is here in New Straitsville, having been formed at Robinson's Cave (see left, click to enlarge).

In 1884 a coal strike resulted in an unusual attempt to disrupt the replacement workers, hoping to bring a resolution to the conflict. Coal cars were loaded with coal and doused with gasoline and sent back into the mines. The coal car ignited the underground seam of coal which could not be extinguished and, incredibly, still burns to this day. The mine fire drew tourists to the area, albeit briefly, and there are historic photos showing people cooking eggs in skillets over seams where the fire burns. Needless to say, the mine ceased operation.

Coming into New Straitsville there is a large mural, similar to ones seen in the other of the Little Cities, with an old wood car of coal below it. The mural project was undertaken between the Little Cities organization and the area schools for students to look at the town's past and envision its future and paint the sides of buildings in the town (see right, click to enlarge).

The area today is surrounded by Wayne National Forest and attempts are being made at luring the wealthy, suburban vacationers into the region. There is also a Moonshine Festival (see left, click to enlarge) that celebrates the heritage of homespun beverages that also draws tourists. It is a tough sell to the state and beyond, as time marched quickly past many of these cities, but the Little Cities of Black Diamonds seeks to preserve and promote a significant era of both Ohio and American History in the hills of Southeast Ohio.

-J.