The Marion County Historical Society is one of 250 Ohio organizations that have contributed images of historical documents and artifacts for the Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook, which was officially opened by Hope Taft, First Lady of Ohio, at a ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse on March 26.  More than a century of Ohio history can be found in the scrapbook, located online at http://www.ohiomemory.org.

The Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook is a project coordinated by the Ohio Historical Society that presents online items dating from prehistory to 1902, including letters, diaries, historical photographs, clothing, furniture, prehistoric artifacts, and government records.  The collections document important milestones in history, such as the signing of the Treaty of Greenville and the Wright Brothers’ first flight.  Other collections, such as prehistoric artifacts, handmade quilts, and family letters, offer glimpses into the everyday lives of past generations of Ohioans.

Visitors to the electronic scrapbook can search for specific information by subject, contributing organization, and geographic area.  The scrapbook is organized into five categories for easy navigation: Ohio Citizenship, Economy, People, Culture, and Environment.

Items provided by The Marion County Historical Society include an 1888 Marion Steam Shovel Company catalog, a wood cradle brought to Marion County in the 1840s by the Brockelsby family, a silk and velvet crazy quilt made about 1890 by Rosa Ellen Earnest Brown, a patent issued to Henry Barnhart and Edward Huber in 1883, and Huber Manufacturing Company catalogs.

“This is an early bicentennial gift to Ohio in recognition of nearly 200 years of statehood,” Mrs. Taft said.  “The rich assortment of historical treasures contained in the more than 9,000 pages and images from Ohio’s past can now be shared with anyone who is interested in Ohio history, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

“The mission of the Ohio Memory Project is to provide access to the historical treasures of Ohio, bringing together primary sources from all parts of the state, Ohio Historical Society Executive Director Gary C. Ness said.  Ohio Memory is loosely based on the Library of Congress’ American Memory Project, a long-term digitization project combining that institution’s collections with those of other repositories throughout the United States.