History research can be a time consuming task. Resources come in a variety of forms and may reside in many different locations. As enjoyable and exciting as it may be, discovery and access to the information can sometimes be very challenging. Unfortunately, little information is available online for this county. The primary purpose of this website is to collect timeline dates, photos, and maps, and make it availible online for easy access. As this site matures, I am sure other pertinent historic information will be included.
Photo Donation Clarification:
When I refer to a "photo donation", that really means a scanned image of someone's photo(s). I really dont want the actual physical photo.
KnoxTime on Facebook:
Enjoy discussing and interacting with other people interested in local history. A place to share your own vintage photos for others to enjoy. Tell stories of days gone by, share and preserve your personal knowledge that no one else may know.
I just recieved these photos from Richard Dice. What a great set of photos! This is the first photo I have seen of the Donut Hole on the square, add Schines and Pauls Flowers, this is a pretty rare bird! And the Donut hole car... what can one say other than, Thank you Richard!! Rock Husdon in Lover Come Back was released in 1961.
Keitha Porter Anderson - Mount Vernon Photo Collection:
The first building was on the corner of Main and Gambier, where The First Federal Savings and Loan is now. The second photo is the 3rd Ward school, where the current old Central School is now, owned by the County, on East Chestnut across from the Court House. The third is the Fourth Ward School on West Chestnut down in the mist of Coopers, accross from the CES Credit Union. And the last of course, the old High/Middle School.
Keitha Porter Anderson - Mount Vernon Photo Collection:
The first photo, South Main Looking North is a real gem, I really like this view. It appears that access to Gay Street from just over the Viaduct is not there. The next photo of South Main Looking South appears to be decorated with Christmas lights? And the last two photos of Public Square, I dont know the event or have any dates. If anyone knows, please post on KnoxTime Facebook.
Keitha Porter Anderson - Mount Vernon Photo Collection:
The first photo is of the Cozy Bar and Grill and the GreyHound Bus station on West High Street. Love the Cozy photo, not that I ever attended such a place ;) The file names of the other three photos are self explanatory.
Keitha Porter Anderson - Mount Vernon Photo Collection:
The first three photos are store fronts in the first block of East Gambier, on the North Side. The telephone company photo is at the same location the current one is. Hadleys was next to the phone company on the east side. The third photo were stores on the west side of the phone company on the other side of the alley. And of course, the last photo is the Curtis Hotel on Public Square.
Keitha Porter Anderson - Mount Vernon Photo Collection:
The first photo I call the old Stauffer Building, which housed Stauffer Clothing for years, now the location of City Hall. Love the Mazza ad! The next photo, Police Department, east side of the Stauffer building, where the Police Department is today. Looks like a real dump, but love the police car. The third photo, West corner of the Stauffer, looking up North Main. Last photo, West side of the Stauffer on North Main.
Keitha Porter Anderson - Mount Vernon Photo Collection:
Keitha Porter Anderson has been kind enough to donate her vintage photos of Mount Vernon. Most of these photos were taken by Jim White. His wife Florence Porter White allowed Keitha to make copies. Thank you, Keitha!
The first photo is Montgomery Ward which was located at 214 South Main Street. This building was recently renovated by the Nazarene University and now known as Hunter Hall. The second photo is the previous building at the same location which housed Cussins and Fearn at that time. I do not know when this building was torn down and Montgomery Ward built. The third photo is the old Martin Memorial Hospital where our donator Keitha was born. And the last photo is the old Mercy Hospital where Keitha also worked.
I will post more of Keitha's collection in the following days. Thank you again Keitha!!
I was amazed when I found out that Mount Vernon installed it's water system in 1883. I would have never guessed that early. The first two photos are of the Water Works. I assume they are of the original construction, but I don't know that for sure, no dates on photos. The last photo is a current photo of the water tower that is located in Mound View Cemetery. I have been told by various sources that this is the orginal tower built and used in 1883. I saw a sketch map of Mount Vernon, dated early 1890's, and it showed a water tower that looks just like it. I was told that this water tower was still being used just a mere 20-25 years ago. I found the following description of the Water Works on a 1887 SanBorn Fire Insurance Map, 4 years after original construction. I tried to copy as written, including abbreviations.
Population 6900 - Prev Winds S.W.
Water Facilities
Stand Pipe System of Water Works. Stand Pipe 56' high & 25'
Diam. Capacity 7000 bbls, Top of Stand Pipe, 227' above Pump
Flo.
Pump Flo located at the foot of W High St. on the Kokosing River. 2
Worthington Pumping Engines, 1 high pressure Duplex with Steam
Cylinder and 1 Compound Duplex with two Steam Cylinders.
Capacity of each 750,000 Galls per day. 2 boilers each 15' long,
56" Diameter.
Water Supply from 2 Wells, 1 - 8' Diam. 17' Deep located under
Pump Flo. and one outside of building 20' Diam, 17' Deep
connected with the one under Pump Flo. by Sewer pipe. Capacity
of both wells 1 1/2 million Galls per day.
16 Miles of Water Pipe, 77 Hydrants, Average pressure 90lbs per
Sq, inch. 20 Public Cisterins, not used!
Fire Department
Volunteer 19 men, 3 men paid, 5 night police, 1 Steam Engine, 1
Hand Engine, 1 Hook and Ladder Truck, 3 Horse Hose Carts,
2000' of Hose, 3 Horses, 2 Hand Hose Carts.
LeeAnn Hurlow donated these two photos of the Central Coal and Wood company owned by Charles Raymond (Doc) Hurlow on Arch Ave. It took up the block between Harrison St. and Jackson St., across from Arch Park, and operated from about 1940 to 1956. The coal was piled on the corner of Jackson and Arch and another pile on the corner of Harrison and Arch. The neighborhood boys would get in trouble for climbing the coal piles. They also sold Christmas trees during the Holidays. Thank you, LeeAnn!
Roger and Jeannine Davis - Cottage Inn, Fredericktown:
More photos from Roger and Jeannine Davis. The Cottage Inn, a truck stop, was located on South Main Street in Fredericktown - across from Taylor's grocery store. It was next to what is now Rite Aid and part of the Chevrolet car lot. George Wilson "Willie" and Mary Elizabeth Fisher Davis were the owners at the time. Thank you again, Jeannine!
Roger and Jeannine Davis - The Fredericktown Sinclair Station, Howard Mast owner:
Another great set of photos donated by Roger and Jeannine Davis. The Fredericktown Sinclair Station, when owned by Howard Mast, c1940. This is currently Fast Freddies. Thank you again, Jeannine!
A great set of 1959 flood photos. These photos were taken by Chet and Gwen Haldeman and donated by their daughters Lynette Haldeman and Jennifer Haldeman. Thank you Lynette and Jennifer!!!!
I have been looking for a photo of Becks for a long long time. I know a lot of other people have too. These photos were donated by Roger and Jeannine Davis from the family archives of Lois Fisher Beck. Thank you Jeannine!!!!
A person sent me this current photo to ask me what this big pile of stones were. She said it was located south of the current West High Street Bridge, just off of Harcourt road. Recognize the house in the background. I have never seen this, so I took a field trip this evening, and sure enough, there it was. It sure looked like a bridge foundation. So I took a look at the 1896 County Atlas (Available on KnoxTime) and it sure appears that Gambier road crossed the Kokosing at that location. I then looked at Google Maps, Gambier Road and the stones line up perfectly. So it sure appears there was a bridge there. And that pile of stones is taller than it looks in the photo, maybe 15-20 foot high. If anyone else knows more about this, please visit KnoxTime on Facebook and leave a comment!
Jewell Ice Cream and Milk (1912 - c1955) was located on North Sandusky Street where Little Caesars pizza is now. I dont know a lot about this establishment, so I hope other people can chime in with some details on KnoxTime Facebook. The last photo was taken at a 1966 Parade reenactment.
I think this is a great set of photos, including several iconic establishments. The last photo is one that I took on a recent field trip to Hunters Bridge. If you've never been there, it's worth the time and effort!
When a flood from heavy rain and thawing snow threatened the safety of Mount Vernon’s citizens in 1959, radio station WMVO went on the air to keep the community informed of the latest emergency information. The station provided around-the-clock updates, getting special permission from the Federal Communications Commission to remain on the air after dark. At that time, WMVO-AM was permitted only to make daytime broadcasts.
In the days after, the station’s staff produced a documentary touting its coverage of the flood. This treasure was capture on reel-to-reel tape and was converted to digital format when discovered by former WMVO radio personality Adam Taylor in 2008. He donated the documentary to Knox Time for your listening enjoyment.
Because of my limited bandwidth and old Web Server, the broadcast is split into 7 segments. Even then, I may have to disable this if it overloads my system, until I pay for a hosting service. Enjoy!
We’ll Meet You at Pitkin’s Corner - I copied this phrase and first image from the wonderful Vernon Johnson web site. Vernon Johnson was a local artist who captured images of Mount Vernon in watercolor, circa 1950s. I love his work!! There was also a book published containing his art work that can be purchased at local book stores. A great conversation piece for every home!! This link to his website describes Pitkins better than I ever could.
Pitkins opened in 1914 and closed in 1957. Pitkins awning can be seen in the last photo, which I would have dated around 1915 or so, my best guess. So it must have been taken shortly after Pitkins opened, again my best guess.
I have posted a bunch more photos from the Engineers Office. They are mostly back road bridges, a few collapsed bridges and a couple other miscellanous. Please go to the Engineer Collection in the Photo Gallery to view these photos.
Phil Samuell, associated with the B&O Railroad Depot and its restoration, has donated these wonderful photos. Phil is huge history enthusiast and it shows with the restoration of the Depot. Today is the first time I saw the inside of the B&O Depot and all I have to say is WOW. It is beautiful!! My imagination ran wild, trying to visualize a crowd of travelers and a steam engine awaiting their board. If you have never visited this treasure, you must go, you will not be sorry. My hat is off to you Phil, Great Job!!
My favorite photo is the Mount Vernon football team and fans boarding the train to Marietta. That had to be so cool. Please visit the B&O website at http://www.mountvernondepot.org
I have posted the entire Knox County Agricultural Museum Collection in the Photo Gallery. Some of the photos have been posted before, but there are a lot of photos that have never been posted. Thank you Ag Museum!!
Chuck Ransom - Art work of Licking and Knox Counties - 1895:
Chuck Ransom allowed me to scan these photos from his 12 volume set of booklets called The Art Work of Licking and Knox Counties, published in 1895. These large booklets, about 20 pages each, describe the two counties and towns in detail along with accompanying photos. Thank you Chuck!
Jim Zink has found and donated more family/business photos. The first photo shows how large a man Charles was at 6'7" and 410 lbs. Thank you again Jim.
Photo Request:
I love historic photos, and always on the look out for more. Please consider scanning your old photos and allowing me to add them to the KnoxTime collection. For best results, photos should be scanned at 300dpi or better. Smaller photos should be scanned at 600dpi. All photos should be scanned as a color photo, even if the photo is black and white. I will give full credit to the donor unless otherwise requested. You can email the photo(s) as an attachment to the email address below. If you cant do this yourself, I can help, See 'About' for more information.
Becks or Clippys:
I have had a lot of inquiries asking if I had photos of Becks or Clippys. I wish I did, but I do not. If you have or know of anyone who may have such a photo(s), please consider having it added to the KnoxTime photo gallery.
History errors or Website problems:
If you find any historic errors or think the website is not functioning properly, please drop me an email at knoxtime@columbus.rr.com.
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