Our recent German Days post led to two interesting developments that help illustrate why we launched Archiving Wheeling in the first place. Read More
German Days
What Two Real Photo Postcards Reveal About Early Twentieth Century Wheeling
Why are there so many real photo postcards (RPPC’s) postmarked 1906 or 1907?
The credit is due to George Eastman of Kodak fame, who acquired the rights to produce photo paper with a pre-printed postcard back and in 1903 developed an inexpensive folding camera that produced postcard sized negatives. A few years later, in 1907, he introduced the “real photo postcard” service allowing amateur photographers to turn any photograph into a postcard, inexpensively. The RPPC’s popularity exploded and people everywhere used them to chronicle events and small town scenes that might otherwise have been lost to history, having been largely ignored by professional photographers. RPPC’s depicting various Wheeling subjects frequently appear on eBay and other online auction sites.
Two examples — one from 1906 and one from 1908 — provide some interesting information about “German Wheeling.”
Bridging Time
Ellet’s Gothic Looking Suspension Bridge
“Looking forward to the succession of ages, and even of years, it is beyond the foresight of human intellect to say what innumerable happy results would flow from the erection of a bridge over the Ohio at Wheeling on a permanent and useful plan, both to the Government of the Union, and to the People of this vast, enterprising, and happy republic.” – Charles Mercer, U.S. Congressman from Virginia, Committee on Roads and Canals, January 19, 1837.
When people think about Wheeling and its history, most will visualize the familiar towers of our beloved Suspension Bridge.
Spanning the Ohio River since 1849, the old bridge is iconic – its familiar shape gracing logos and trademarks developed by local businesses and institutions, including the logo of the Ohio County Public Library. It has become the favored symbol of our town, and arguably its most recognizable structure.
But had designer Charles Ellet Jr.’s earliest concept been used, the bridge would look radically different – far more Gothic in design. Read More
The Grover Cleveland Banner Incident: Wheeling in the National Spotlight
“You don’t get me to march under that thing!”
As mentioned in a previous post, the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), the largest of Civil War veterans’ groups, was very active in Wheeling during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Grateful for an end to the bloody, exhausting war, most Americans were more than willing to reward these veterans with generous pensions. Unfortunately, as is often the case where money is involved, some took advantage, exaggerating or even falsifying pension claims. Read More
The Origins of Memorial Day
Frozen in Time: May 30, 1911 at Mt. Zion Cemetery
Now known as Memorial Day, the first “Decoration Day” was held on May 30, 1868. Created by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), it was originally intended to be a day to honor the memory of those who died in the Civil War. Congress made “Memorial Day” an official, national holiday in 1971.
Wheeling played host to reunions of Civil War veterans of the G.A.R. numerous times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The J. W. Holliday Post, No. 12, of Wheeling was usually front and center during these activities. Read More
Archiving Wheeling: the Evolution of a Local History Collection
Many people in our community are familiar with the Ohio County Public Library’s Wheeling Room which houses a large local history collection and many genealogical resources. Fewer people, however, are aware of the Ohio County Public Library’s substantial archival collection.
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