March 2002: Volume 22, Number 1

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Ohio Marks 200 Years of Statehood with Celebrations and Memories

March 1, 2003 marks the official start of celebrations of Ohio Statehood. Official and unofficial celebrations throughout the state will mark the occasion this year. Libraries and archives, museums and historical societies have gathered information and photographs online, giving just a hint of the wealth of resources available to learn more about Ohio's heritage.

Authorized in 1995, the Ohio Bicentennial Commission promotes, encourages and coordinates the celebration and commemoration of the state's anniversary with more than 450 Bicentennial projects around the state.

The Ohio Public Library Infomation Network (OPLIN) has compiled a list of websites dealing with the bicentennial celebrations and with special web projects highlighting Ohio's history.

Toledo's Attic is a joint program of the Lucas County-Maumee Valley Historical Society, whose mission is to "identify and publicly display artifacts and other evidence that help to reconstruct, interpret, and commemorate the story of twentieth-century Toledo and its surrounding communities."

Supported in part by grants from the Ohio Humanities Council, the C.O. Minniger Foundation, and the University of Toledo, a team of researchers from the University of Toledo's History Department under the direction of Dr. Timothy Messer-Kruse have selected images, documents, and artifacts that represent various landmarks in the city's history and present them through virtual exhibits and databases. Visitors to the site are invited to contribute comments and suggestions for exhibits, which will be incorporated over time.

Four libraries in Sandusky County have created a cooperative online scrapbook of their county's history. Users can view historical objects like swords and read transcripts of letters.

 The Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook takes this idea a step farther and creates a detailed resource for historians and students on a statewide level. The CAC is a major contributor to this project, submitting a large number of images of items in our collections. A link to the Ohio Memory page is also accessible from the CAC's homepage.

Officially "opened" in March 2002 by Mrs. Hope Taft, First Lady of Ohio, the Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook brings online historical documents and artifacts from more than 250 libraries, museums, archives and historical societies across the state.

The Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook presents items dating from prehistory to 1903, and with additions from the latest round of submissions, will bring the coverage forward to the present. Some of the collections document important milestones in Ohio's past or the lives of famous Ohioans. Still other collections, such as prehistoric artifacts, quilts, clothing and furniture, as well as family letters or local government records offer glimpses into everyday life.

Visitors to the electronic scrapbook can search for specific information by contributing organization, geographic area, or one of five subject categories: Ohio Citizenship; Economy; People; Culture; and Environment. A special feature allows users to create their own scrapbooks of their favorite images and information and to add annotations of their own. Teachers may find this feature especially useful for classroom projects.

Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook is a collaborative, statewide project managed by the Ohio Historical Society. Project partners include the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN), OhioLINK, the Ohio Library Council, the Information Network for Ohio Schools (INFOhio) and the Ohio Bicentennial Commission.

At this writing, Ohio Memory Project Staff are accepting and processing new submissions which will bring the Scrapbook Project up to the present. Keep checking this exciting new resource for Ohio history.

--Lee N. McLaird