OHIO HISTORY MINUTE

Olga T. Anderson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1903 to parents who emigrated from Sweden. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Ohio, where she later married Paul Weber in 1925. They settled in Louisville where, in 1951, Olga began handing out copies of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and patriotic leaflets to local schools, libraries, and churches, and to the public in general in an effort to make sure that no one forgot or took for granted the freedoms our forefathers sacrificed so much to secure for all of us. In 1952, she petitioned Louisville officials to establish Constitution Day in honor of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. As a result, September 17 was declared Constitution Day in the city of Louisville. With further urging from Weber, Ohio proclaimed September 17 as Constitution Day in Ohio. Then, remarkably, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the week of September 17, 1955 as Constitution Week. In 1975, Olga was awarded a Congress of Freedom award for her community activities and work. She died August 1, 1978 and is buried in St. Louis Cemetery in Louisville. 

Electra Collins Doren, born in Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio in 1867, was a librarian and a pioneer in establishing library training courses. She was an innovator in library services in the state of Ohio, who began the second bookmobile, which was, at that time, a book wagon. Doren was also an advocate for women’s suffrage, and, in 1999, was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame. Electra died in 1927 in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. 

The Haines House in Alliance, Ohio, stands as one of the state’s important Underground Railroad stations, demonstrating that the struggle against slavery extended far beyond communities along the Ohio River. Built between 1827 and 1842 by early settlers John and Nancy Grant, the home later became the residence of their daughter Sarah Grant Haines and her husband, Ridgeway Haines, Quaker farmers and committed abolitionists who began operating an Underground Railroad station there around 1853. Family accounts preserved in Alliance recount that Ridgeway Haines frequently stood guard with a gun while sheltering freedom seekers in a small attic room above the kitchen. Their twelve-year-old son, John Columbus “Tump” Haines, also assisted, helping transport escaped slaves to the next station under the cover of darkness. The Haines House served as an important link in a network connecting Salem, Mechanicstown, and Hanoverton to Alliance, with routes continuing through Marlboro and Limaville to Randolph, Hudson, and ultimately Lake Erie. Today, the Haines House Underground Railroad Museum preserves this history through restored rooms, exhibits, and the attic where fugitives once hid. The house serves as a powerful reminder of the courage and sacrifice displayed by both freedom seekers and the ordinary Ohio families who risked everything to help them on their journey to freedom.

Faye Harriet Hersh was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 1934. Faye earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She married Sidney Dambrot in 1955, and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Akron, the city that became her new hometown. She taught in the University of Akron’s Psychology Department from 1966 until her retirement in 1989, with the prestigious distinction of associate professor emeritus. Following her retirement, from 1992 to 1995, she served as the project director for developing community plans to improve math, science, and technology education for women and minorities for the Women's Network, Ohio Department of Education, and Summit County Education Partnership Foundation. Faye died on March 17, 2000. She was posthumously inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.

Ohio’s adopted son, inventor Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr., has saved countless lives through his inventions that have contributed to public safety. He was born in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1877, to parents who were both freed slaves; his mother was also part Native American. He moved from Kentucky to Cincinnati in search of work at the age of 14. In 1895, he moved to Cleveland and began working as a sewing machine mechanic, which resulted in his first invention, a belt fastener for sewing machines. He soon thereafter invented a zigzag attachment for sewing machines. Early after the turn of the century, Morgan invented a successful line of haircare products and then launched a company, G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company, to market his inventions. But it was his invention of a “smoke hood,” a precursor to the gas mask, for which he filed a patent in 1912. He became nationally known for this invention following its use by him and his brother, Frank, to rescue workers in the July 24, 1916, Waterworks Tunnel explosion in Cleveland. This was his first life-saving invention. In 1922, Morgan witnessed a dreadful accident between a car and a carriage at an intersection, which is said to be the impetus for his next life-saving invention, the three-way-traffic light, for which he received a patent in 1923. Prior to his invention, traffic lights alternated only between “red” and “green”. Morgan added the “yellow” for a transitional interval between “stop” and “go,” resulting in the prototype of the stoplight we all know today. Morgan and his wife, Mary, had three children. He died in 1963 in Cleveland. 

The Mound in Marietta is a significant historic and archaeological site located within Marietta’s city cemetery, where it has been preserved since the city’s earliest days. When Marietta’s pioneers established the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory in 1788, they intentionally placed the cemetery around the mound to protect it from future development.

Known as Conus, the mound was constructed by the prehistoric Moundbuilder culture between 800 B.C. and 700 A.D. and is believed to have served as a burial site for tribal leaders. The Moundbuilders were among the earliest farmers and artisans in the Ohio Valley, and Marietta was once the site of a thriving Moundbuilder community. A monument at the site explains the history and mystery surrounding these early inhabitants.

The surrounding cemetery is notable for containing a large number of American Revolutionary War officers and soldiers, including both identified and unidentified graves. Many of those buried there were among the city’s founders and early settlers, having received land grants in recognition of their military service during the Revolutionary War. Maps within the cemetery identify known Revolutionary War burials, including that of Dr. Samuel Hildreth, a Revolutionary War surgeon and prominent early citizen of Marietta.

Adjacent to the cemetery is the Campus Martius Museum, which preserves and interprets the history of early settlement in the Northwest Territory. The museum incorporates the original home of General Rufus Putnam, leader of the Ohio Company of Associates and a key figure in Marietta’s founding. Together, The Mound, the cemetery, and nearby museums offer a comprehensive look at the region’s prehistoric origins and early American history.ion

The University of Mount Union’s Kehres Stadium, formerly known as Mount Union Stadium, in Alliance is Ohio’s oldest college football stadium! The stadium hosted its first football game on November 1, 1913; in case you’re wondering, Mount Union defeated Case in that game 7-0. In 1915, grandstand seating was added to the stadium; in 1928, seating capacity of the stadium was increased to 5,000 when bleachers were added. Ohio’s first collegiate night football game was played in the stadium on October 3, 1930; Mount Union beat Kent State 18-6 in that one! The winning tradition in Purple Raider football has a very long history for sure! This stadium is also where the Alliance Aviators (Alliance High School) play their football games. In 2022, the stadium was renamed Kehres Stadium in honor of Larry Kehres ’71, Mount Union’s head football coach from 1986-2012. 

Author Caleb Franz’s The Conductor highlights the life and legacy of Reverend John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister and one of the most influential figures in the abolitionist movement. Born in Tennessee in 1793, Rankin left the South because he could not reconcile slavery with his religious beliefs. He settled in Ripley, Ohio, in 1822 and became one of the earliest and most active conductors on the Underground Railroad. Rankin’s hilltop home overlooking the Ohio River served as a beacon of hope for people escaping slavery. By placing a lantern in his window, he signaled that his home was a safe haven. Working alongside African American abolitionist John Parker and their families, Rankin helped approximately 2,000 enslaved people reach freedom, and no one who reached Ripley was ever recaptured. Deeply affected when his brother became a slaveholder, Rankin launched a public letter campaign condemning slavery. These writings became foundational texts for the abolitionist movement and were later used by the American Anti-Slavery Society to educate supporters. Recognized by the National Abolition Hall of Fame, Rankin’s courage and faith made him a vital bridge between early opponents of slavery and the movement that ultimately led to the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment. Today, his home in Ripley remains a National Historic Landmark and a testament to Ohio’s central role in the struggle for freedom.

Harriet Taylor Upton was born in Ravenna, Portage County, Ohio, on December 17, 1853, before her family moved to Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, in 1861. There, she graduated from high school in 1873. In 1884, she married Attorney George Upton.

By the early 1890s, Harriet had “emerged as one of the leading voices of the Women’s Suffrage Movement…and spent 30 years dedicating herself to the passage of the 19th Amendment,” states the Trumball County History Society.

In 1898, Harriet became the first woman elected to the Warren Board of Education. She was the first president of the Suffrage Association of Warren, the president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association from 1899 to 1908 and from 1911 to 1920, a charter member of the League of Women Voters, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and an author of children’s books, books on historical themes, and an autobiography.

Harriet Taylor Upton passed away in Pasadena, California, on November 2, 1945, at the age of 91. She was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1981.

In 1887, Harriet’s father, Congressman Ezra Taylor, deeded the Taylor family home on historic Mahoning Avenue in Warren to Harriet. In 1992, because of the role Harriet and her home played in the Suffragist Movement, the home was awarded National Historic Landmark status. Today, the Upton House and its Women's Suffrage Museum are open for educational tours.