Ohio's Yesterdays
Stories about Ohio's people, places, and events inspired by the Manuscripts Collections of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
The Kline Block, Fremont, Ohio
Saturday, June 21, 2025
William McKinley, 25th U.S. President
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William McKinley, 25th President |
President Donald Trump has given high praise to 25th President William McKinley. McKinley's policies on high tariffs and territorial expansion have attracted President Trump's interest. In a recent AP article, Associate Professor of History Kevin Kern at the University of Akron, does not "think there has been as much interest in William McKinley in at least a century in terms of the kind of public consciousness." It was in1928 when his portrait appeared on the $500 bill!
Born in Niles, Ohio in 1843, William McKinley served in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War where he met and fought beside his mentor Rutherford B Hayes. Following the war, he lived in Canton, Ohio, where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton.
Saxton-McKinley House National First Ladies Historic Site, Canton, Ohio National Park Service |
Elected to the U.S. Congress in 1876, McKinley regarded the protective tariff as a means of bringing prosperity to the nation. The U.S. was just beginning to develop its industrial might, unlike today's global economy. The McKinley Tariff of 1890 was highly controversial, leading to his Congressional defeat after seven terms.
Ohioans elected McKinley its governor in 1891 and again in 1893. In 1896, the Republican Party chose McKinley as its candidate for the U.S. Presidency. After the famous "front porch campaign," he took office during a deep depression. He championed "sound money," protective tariffs, and territorial expansion.
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Statue of William McKinley outside Lucas County Courthouse Toledo, Ohio Creative Commons |
The Republic of Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900. Spain, in its peace settlement following the Spanish-American War, gave up to the U. S. its colonies: Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. The U.S. Army controlled Cuba until 1902.
McKinley's second term was cut short when he was shot by Leo Czolgosz on September 6, 1901 in Buffalo, New York. He died eight days later.
National Historic Landmark
The McKinley Presidential Library and Museum offers a greater understanding of his protective tariff and territorial expansion policies. Professor Kern believes McKinley was beginning to change his views on tariffs in a speech he gave the day before he was assassinated.
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President McKinley shot at Pan American Exposition, Buffalo, N. Y. Library of Congress |
The Hayes Presidential Library and Museum contains more information about McKinley during his Civil War service in the 23rd Ohio when President Hayes was his commander.
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Fremont, Ohio Opera House
Fremont Ohio Opera House Rutherford B. Hayes Library and Museums |
Elmore Manufacturing Company
The Elmore Manufacturing Company began manufacturing bicycles in Elmore, Ohio in 1892. The company relocated to Clyde, Ohio where it operated from 1893 to 1912. Automobile manufacturing began in 1898. The cars featured 2-cycle valveless engines. The Pathfinder won an endurance race from New York to St. Louis, and was exhibited at the World's Fair. Elmores were also used as taxi cabs. At the height of its operation, the company made nearly 1,200 cars a year. In 1909, the owners sold the company to General Motors, which later moved it to Detroit, and eventually stopped production of the Elmore cars.
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Pathfinder, St. Louis Exposition 1904 |
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First Elmore Car |
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Elmore Taxis |
Monday, May 12, 2025
Ohio's Revolutionary War Soldiers' Gravesites
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America 250-Ohio, in partnership with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office, Terracon Consultants, Inc., Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution, are documenting the grave sites of Revolutionary War veterans buried in Ohio.
More than 200,000 soldiers served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Lacking funds to pay its veterans, millions of acres in Ohio were set aside for veterans who received bounty land warrants to settle on. It is because of these lands, known as the United States Military Bounty and the Virginia Military Bounty, that as many as 7,000 veterans are buried in over 1,700 Ohio cemeteries.
In early 2025, a campaign began to record the gravestones of American Revolutionary War veterans and patriots buried in Ohio. This effort, the first of its kind in the state, calls on Ohioans to participate in field data collection. With more than 7,000 veterans' graves to document, public researchers are asked to help in this great task.
These organizations believe it is our duty to document the past so that "generations yet unborn may know the sacrifice and achievement of their forbearers". For more information on how you can participate, go to the Grave Marker & Cemetery Collection portal. Your help is needed in this monumental effort.
As noted in an earlier post, on May 17th at 1 P.M. Ottawa County Ohio will honor five known Revolutionary War soldiers at the Wolcott Family Cemetery in Danbury Twp.
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Fremont Ohio Community Band
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Fremont (Ohio) Band Rutherford B. Hayes Library and Museums |
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
John C. Smith's Boat House, Sandusky River, Fremont, Ohio
This photograph, a part of the Sandusky County (Ohio) Photograph Collection at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums, features a view of John C. Smith's Boat House on the Sandusky River. It is believed to have been taken about 1890. The boat house lay near North Front Street. Visible is the back of the old Kessler Hotel and the Western and Lake Erie Depot where John Smith had offices on the upper floor. Note the canoes along the bank of the river.
In the upper left hand corner of the photograph is John Pero's coal company. The gas plant existed in the same area in 1887. By 1904, Pero's coal company was known as Riverside Coal. The sign on the large building in the center of the photograph reads "Soapine." This appears to have been an advertisement for this well-known cleaning product.