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A work stoppage on the rails led to a fascinating moment in Ohio history.

As the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 made its way into Ohio, the state already had its share of problems. Tramps, men who’d taken to the road looking for work because of the economic depression of the 1870s, seemed to be overrunning the state. Railroads, one of Ohio’s biggest employers, cut jobs. Those not fired suffered from repeated cuts in wages and hours, making their already unsafe work conditions worse.

Strikes in neighboring states, instigated by another 10 percent wage cut on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, became violent and destructive. When they broke out in Ohio, something remarkable happened. Strikers remained mostly peaceful, avoiding the killing, looting, and vandalism seen elsewhere. Much of the credit for the path taken by Ohio must go to its level-headed governor, Thomas L. Young, who used the Ohio National Guard to great effect. 

A part of Belt's City Anthology Series, A deft, well-considered collection of essays, illustrations and photographs that represents...'the visions of those who have fallen madly in love with the city of Cincinnati, either for the first time or all over again.'--Cincinnati CityBeat

The Cincinnati Anthology brings together some of the Queen City's most notable residents, native sons and daughters, and creatives to tell tales of a city's triumphs and tribulations.

Edited by Zan McQuade, this collection reflects Cincinnati's true complexity: its present and its past, its transitions and its legacies; what defines it and distinguishes it; what makes us love it and what makes some eventually leave it. It is an anthology on genealogy and geology, race and progress, and experiences from the suburbs to Over-the-Rhine. Included are contributions from Curtis Sittenfeld, John Curley, Cedric Michael Cox, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Jack Heffron, Polk Laffoon IV, Katie Laur, Sam LeCure, Over the Rhine, Michael Wilson, and many more. Here you'll find:

- Portraits of Price Hill Residents

- The dog parks of Over-the-Rhine

- 5 Things a Relief Pitcher for the Reds loves about the city

- A legacy of segregation that still resonates today

- The Freestore Foodbank

- An ode to Pete Rose.

An insider's guide to the story of Cincinnati and the myriad lives that are lived there.

Hidden History of Black Cincinnati reveals the untold stories that shaped a city and defined a people. 

Long before the Civil Rights Movement or the Harlem Renaissance, Black Cincinnatians were building communities, owning businesses, and resisting injustice in bold and brilliant ways. B.F. Howard and Pullman Porter Arthur J. Riggs co-founded the international organization now known as the Black Elks, and Margaret Garner’s tragic flight to freedom inspired Toni Morrison’s Beloved and ignited national debates on slavery. Celebrated painter Robert S. Duncanson rose to international acclaim in the nineteenth century despite the limitations of race.

Writer, historian, and cultural advocate Kareem A. Simpson unearths these powerful stories and more with clarity and care, offering a rich portrait of a city’s soul and the Black lives that shaped it.

Lovers of true crime and Ohio history will find themselves riveted by these crimes of passion.

There is a thin line between love and hate, and when intense passion threatens that border, blood will flow. Northern Ohio has had its share of people who felt that line snap. In Canton, the Phantom-Flapper Killer shot down her lover in cold blood after he threatened to expose her infidelity to the world. In Toledo, Dorothy Brown’s married boyfriend brutally attacked her when he learned that she was expecting. Max Amerman of Medina was willing to kill for the girl of his dreams, and when Cleveland’s Matilda Waldman believed that her husband was cursed by a witch, she took out the she-devil by way of a pistol.

Author Wendy Koile examines these relationships once bound by love, unraveled by lies, and cut off by murder.

Whether it’s homemade chicken pot pie, a steak from Baker’s Café or a frozen custard at Meyer’s Lake, the food of Stark County has made mouths water for generations.

The region’s unique soil nurtured a boom in agriculture, and growers like K.W. Zellers & Son Farms still make a living off the land today. Mom-and-pop grocery stores such as Flory’s and Lemmon’s served their neighborhoods. Long-gone restaurants like Mergus and Topp’s Chalet created delicious dishes and cherished memories. Families like the Millers and Swaldos have created nationally recognized destinations out of simple starts. Join authors Kim Kenney and Barb Abbott as they trace Stark County’s food history.

Quiet Franklin was first established in 1796 as a sleepy collection of cabins along the beautiful Great Miami River.

When the Miami Canal came through the village in 1829, and the railroad followed in the 1870s, many new industries came to the area, and the downtown filled with fine brick and stone residences, businesses, churches, and public buildings. The town prospered through the 19th century, and the proud community's leaders proclaimed a grand celebration of its past, present, and envisioned future: the Franklin Homecoming of 1910. Just three years later, Franklin was struck by the greatest calamity in its history, the Flood of 1913. Though Franklin quickly recovered, it soon left its past behind, as it became a modern city in a rapidly changing nation. Through vintage images of buildings, businesses, and people now gone and forgotten, Franklin brings to life the town's rich history, from its beginnings to 1920.

Cottages and Castles provides a guide to the historic architecture of Maumee, with examples and descriptions of the various styles from Greek Revival temple forms to Second Empire mansions, and the simpler middle-class cottages that proliferated after the Civil War. Some houses are included because of their distinct architectural characteristics and others because of their association with prominent people or events. Together, they provide a look back at the evolution of small town architecture in this historic northwest Ohio community.

Explore the rich history of Lorain, Ohio through the postcards of photographer Willis A. Leiter. A must for fans of Leiter, photography, and Ohio history.

When Willis A. Leiter established his photography studio in Lorain in 1901, he found a thriving community on the shore of Lake Erie.

He captured the spirit of the times through his photographs of ship launchings, steel production, community events, and charming views of people and places. The Leiter Studio, known for its quality portraiture, embraced the golden age of postcards (1905–1915) and published thousands of real photo postcards of Lorain and the surrounding areas. Many of these postcards survive today, and they provide a unique retrospective view of Lorain during a simpler era.

Bill Jackson and Paula Shorf are longtime collectors of Leiter real photo postcards. They joined together with Lorain historians Albert Doane and Matthew Weisman, and Bruce Leiter Waterhouse Jr., a great-grandson of the photographer, to create this visual feast of early Lorain history, all through the lens of Willis Leiter.

Discover the excellent planning and history of Ohio's Euclid Golf Neighborhood, one of the finest in the country.

Euclid Golf was built on land owned by John D. Rockefeller, who lent it to the Euclid Club for its golf course. Developer Barton R. Deming employed Garden City principles and deed restrictions to entice the elite of Cleveland, while architects Howell and Thomas, Charles Schneider and others designed splendid houses in the revival styles that defined gracious living. As prominent Clevelanders made their homes in Euclid Golf, Fairmount Boulevard became known as The Euclid Avenue of the Heights.

Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley.

From the days of the gaslit opera houses through the era of the drive-in, the Mahoning Valley's theatrical culture has thrived. The finest theaters in northeastern Ohio rose with the manufacturing might of the Steel Valley. The Warner brothers, who started their careers in Youngstown, opened their first theater in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and celebrities from Katharine Hepburn to Red Skelton graced local stages. The finest vaudevillians and the lovely ladies of burlesque were always a ticket away. Take a trip back to the Park Burlesque and the opulent Palace Theater and revisit the theater culture of Warren and Trumbull County. Author Sean T. Posey traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley.

Covering the time period from the 19th century when German immigrants formed the first American Tuner societies for athletic training, and professional baseball developed to the current age of new ballparks and sports celebrities, Cincinnati on Field and Court takes a look at the place of sports in the cultural life of the Queen City. Included are professional teams like the Reds, Bengals, and Royals; legendary figures like Pete Rose, Oscar Robertson, and Ezzard Charles; dramatic moments like the 1919 World Series, the courageous story of Maurice Stokes, and the Olympic achievements of DeHart Hubbard; and social issues like the impact of women's sports and racial segregation and integration. The good, the bad, the foolish, the innovative, the tragic, and the inspiring are all covered.

From its founding in 1856, Lorain County has been the scene of countless unexplained events and eerie sightings. What really happened down in Swift Hollow nearly a century ago?

Just who is that man in the brown coat and hat lingering around the stage of the Lorain Palace Theatre? Who are the shadow people dancing in the light of the fire down in Smugglers Den? And what was the source of the screams that chased a North Ridgeville family from their home in the dead of night? Join local author Eric Defibaugh on a quest to answer these questions and more about Lorain County’s ghostly history.

Akron and Summit County's classic hot spots have satisfied palates since the early twentieth century. Akron alone could sit up to thirty thousand people at once during the golden age of the '50s and '60s.

Marcel's made a name for itself with its scampi, and Icaomini's became synonymous with lobster. Ladd's dished crowd-pleasing coney dogs, and Yanko's sliced up its mouthwatering shish kabobs. Digging up vintage images and recipes, author Sharon Myers leads readers on a delectable trip down memory lane to the area's most renowned and cherished eateries.

From Zane's Trace to John Glenn, the 200 year history of this quintessential Midwestern town is presented in photographs.

I've always believed that New Concord and Muskingum College are the center of the universe, because if you get your start here, you can go anywhere. This quote from John Herschel Glenn Jr. is the perfect summation of a wonderfully Midwestern town that produced one of the great American citizens of all time. The Village of New Concord, founded in 1828, had humble enough beginnings. Over the course of the next century and a half, however, the growth of the entire country was played out on New Concord's stage as residents faced a series of revolutionary frontiers: Zane's Trace, the National Road, U.S. Route 40, Interstate 70, and finally, space. New Concord, like the rest of the country, struggled through two world wars, the Great Depression, and social turmoil. Unlike the rest of the country, it also produced a hero.

The story of beer in Dayton and the Miami Valley is as old as the region’s first settlers, who brought their brewing methods with them from Europe. From humble origins, the Schwind brothers founded a Dayton brewing dynasty.

Adam Schantz arrived penniless and amassed a fortune as one of the city’s early brewers. Martha Vorce, one of the region’s several unheralded woman brewers, was running the Springfield Brewery a decade before Eliza “Mother” Stewart gained fame there as a temperance leader. Although Prohibition swiftly destroyed this flourishing industry, today’s local craft brewers promise to keep good beer and good times flowing for many years to come. Join local author Tim Gaffney as he explores the Valley’s brewing heritage.

Ed Lentz takes readers on a photographic journey of the Arch city through history from National Road to capital city.

From the enigmatic Moundbuilders who left their mark in the heart of the Buckeye State to the National Road and Ohio Canal that drew an influx of settlers to the burgeoning capital, Columbus blossomed into an industrial hub that became the world's largest producer of buggies. The Arch City—with its illuminated streetcar arches curving gracefully through downtown—struggled through social and political unrest to thrive on its economic success and grow into a diversified capital city.

Savor the unexpected and altogether delectable history of Chinese food in the Queen City

While a smattering of chop suey houses were sprinkled around Cincinnati around the turn of the twentieth century, Wong Yie was the first to present the cuisine to non-Chinese Cincinnatians as a new, exotic, and upscale dining experience with his Gold Dragon in 1911. Despite challenges from the Chinese Exclusion Act, which exacerbated the already massive difficulties faced by Chinese immigrants, Yie’s restaurant spawned more than eighty Chinese restaurants in the city, famed spots such as the Canton, the Wah Mee, and the Fortune Kookie. Proprietors like Mike Wong of Oriental Wok and Johnny Chu of KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia keep our local Chinese food culture alive and evolving.

Author and food etymologist Dann Woellert delves into the fascinating and mouthwatering history of Chinese food in Cincinnati. 

When Gideon Granger arrived in the area that would become Jefferson in 1803, he found an inhospitable land of dense forest, harsh winters, and sultry, humid summers. Even the most basic supplies were a day’s journey away. However, the former US postmaster general saw the potential in this land that he named for the president he had served, Thomas Jefferson. 

The city would later become the center of the US abolitionist movement in the pre–Civil War years as well as the seat of Ashtabula County government when the county was formed in 1808. Nearby Rock Creek, organized in 1819, never grew as big as its neighbor. However, the village is home to a Civil War cemetery, a picturesque creekside park, and one of Ohio’s most talented chainsaw artists. Roaming Shores, a lakeside residential community with hundreds of homes, was created in 1966–1967 when the Rock Creek dam was constructed, forming the largest private-access lake in Ohio.

Sandy Mitchell Pavick has lived in northeast Ohio for more than 25 years. She is a full-time writer and is the author of four previous titles for Arcadia Publishing. For this book, Pavick has amassed images, many of which have never been published, from dozens of private archives as well as from Jefferson area libraries, museums, and historical societies.

Lover's of Ohio history and presidential history will love this exploration of William H. Taft, one of Cincinnati’s favorite sons.

Most Americans know that William Howard Taft was president of the United States and chief justice of the Supreme Court. But his life and legacy contain much beyond that, especially in his hometown.

He fought to put crooks away in court, and he fought for ethics and integrity. He made judgements that made him unpopular. Beyond the law, he and his wife, Nellie, were influential in the city’s arts and culture, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. For all of this and more, he is remembered today as one of the Queen City’s greatest citizens.

After years studying Taft’s career in Cincinnati, Brian Planitz brings to life Taft’s time in his birthplace and how it shaped his later career in Washington, D.C., and around the world.

An enduring feedback loop where belief masquerades as evidence and credibility becomes collateral damage.

In April 1966, police officers in rural Ohio and Western Pennsylvania chased a glowing object across eighty miles of back roads. The object—silent, blinding, and seemingly intelligent—became one of the most famous UFO cases in American history and helped inspire the opening scenes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But the mystery didn’t end when the lights vanished. Drawing on primary sources, official records, and personal experience, this book traces how a single night’s events were transformed into lasting folklore—shaped not just by witnesses and the media, but by the U.S. military’s own investigative machinery. Rather than merely asking what the police chased, a more unsettling question is asked here: how did government involvement, belief, and mistrust combine to create a self-perpetuating legend that still echoes today?

Author Michael Kishbucher, a career U.S. Air Force and Defense Intelligence Agency officer, revisits this strange Appalachian legend from an uncommon perspective: from within the intelligence community itself.

Gone and not forgotten—strange ways Ohioans have met their maker.

Ohio has given us sports legends, world-changing inventors, icons of industry, a wealth of famous artists of all stripes, and eight presidents. It’s also given us ghosts, ghouls, grave robbers, the prematurely buried, historic murders, colorful demises (including death by defective outhouse), those who predicted their own deaths with uncanny accuracy, the violent Wayne County poltergeist, petrified bodies, the Seneca County exploding corpse, obsessive-compulsive Jonathan Ward’s murder-dismemberment of Mrs. Ward, and the faces of way too many dead people appearing in windows.

Light a candle, wrap yourself in a shawl, and join author Keven McQueen and illustrator Addy Atchity on a macabre tour of Ohioans who took a memorable exit. 

Some Ohioans are destined for greatness--some are destined for notoriety.

Akron's Edward Wayne Edwards got an early start, snatching cash and cigarettes from his grandmother's purse. He eventually graduated to murder, offing as many as five people, and he ended up on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list along the way. Lester Eubanks killed a fourteen-year-old in Mansfield. After his death sentence was commuted to life, he was mistakenly allowed to go Christmas shopping and disappeared from a Columbus mall in 1973. U.S. Marshals are still looking for him. Cleveland bank robber "Fast Eddie" Watkins held off fifty lawmen for eight hours while sitting in his car in front of a house near Lodi. John Dillinger was born a Hoosier, but he took from Ohio banks as though he had a birthright to the funds.

From counterfeiters to killers, author Jane Ann Turzillo explores the sordid lives of some of the most awful characters in Buckeye history.

Some notable Buckeyes approach life from a peculiar vantage

Ohio has produced more than its share of eccentric men and women whose peculiar ideas, bizarre behaviors, and outlandish antics have served to make the world more interesting. Among them are a Native American who accurately predicted a solar eclipse in 1806, a failed merchant who convinced many people that the earth was hollow in 1818, sisters who fell out of favor with the women’s rights movement in the 19th century because they were too scandalous—or perhaps too progressive—and a minister who became convinced that the Garden of Eden was in southern Ohio 1908. From John Chapman and Annie Oakley to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, authors David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker illuminate Ohioans who took the road less traveled, and sometimes one that wasn’t even there.