This month, The Extraordinary Times caught up with Brad Spurlock, Manager of the Smith Library of Regional History and Cummins Local History Room for the Lane Libraries. This fall, Brad will present a three-part series on Hamilton's Industrial History at Miami University Downtown, 221 High Street, Hamilton, OH 45011. This series includes Hamilton Hydropower (10/4), Safe Capital of the World (10/24), and From Champion to Champions (11/2). All three programs start at 7:00 p.m.; registration not required. When not giving historical talks, Brad’s work includes maintaining physical and digital archives, coordinating and conducting historical research, and carrying out history and genealogy programming. He graduated from Xavier University with a BA in History in 2014 and went on to earn a Master of Library and Information Science, with concentrations in Archiving/ Special Collections and Management, from Kent State University in 2016. Brad is a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists.
* For those who may be unfamiliar with the Smith Library, what services do you offer the public? The Lane Libraries has two history repositories, the Smith Library of Regional History, located in Oxford, and the Cummins Local History Room, located in Hamilton. The Lane Libraries History Team, composed of Smith Library staff and reference staff at the Hamilton Lane Library, works cooperatively to complete patron requests, undertake digitization and community history projects, and provide public programming. The services we offer include accepting requests for information related to local history, genealogy, property histories, and military service. We will also search for newspaper articles/ obituaries and photographs for patrons in addition to helping patrons gain access to specific books/ materials, offering advisory on archiving/ preservation, and presenting talks to local groups and organizations. * Historically, what factors made Hamilton, Ohio such an economic hub in its industrial heyday? I once had a professor who said that all history is dependent upon geography, and I have never been able to refute that theory. Hamilton became an industrial juggernaut because of a flood that occurred in 1805 on the high ground north of the town. That flood rerouted the Great Miami River north of Hamilton and allowed for an extensive hydraulic canal system to be constructed from the remnants of the original path of the river which was called the "Old River." The Hamilton Hydraulic turned its first water wheel in 1845, bringing industrial power to Hamilton for the first time. Some of the early factories that utilized the hydraulic were the ancestors of Beckett Paper Company, Shuler & Benninghofen, and Hooven-Owens-Rentschler. Another boon to Hamilton's industry came in the 1890s when civic leaders created the East Hamilton Improvement Syndicate which developed Hamilton's 5th Ward and brought major manufacturers to the city, including Mosler Safe, Estate Stove, and Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe. Possibly from seeing the success of this, Peter G. Thomson brought Champion Paper Company to Hamilton around the same time. * What kinds of sources did you draw from in researching your forthcoming talks? All of the information presented in my programs is based on source materials, mostly from the resources held in the Smith Library and Cummins Room. We have several local history books and ephemera (including manufacturing company publications), maps, directories, yearbooks, photographs, etc. to draw information from. We also use web resources to an extent, mostly digitized books available online. One of the best and most specific sources for information on manufacturing, and local history in general, are newspapers. Lane Library patrons have access to historical Hamilton and Cincinnati newspapers through databases we subscribe to, and these newspaper sources are heavily utilized in finding information for our programs. * Without any spoilers, what are some fascinating facts about industrial Hamilton? The most fascinating thing about Hamilton's manufacturing history is just how much influence the city had on vital industries of that time. Hamilton was once known as the Safe Capital of the World as half of the safes and vaults made in the entire world were produced across the street from each other in East Hamilton. Champion Paper Company would also become the world's largest paper manufacturer. General Machinery Corporation, a successor of Niles Tool Works and Hooven-Owens-Rentschler, would also grow to become the world's largest machine shop (I will be holding a program on this at the Hamilton Lane Library on 11/16 at 6pm).
1 Comment
Gratia Banta
10/9/2023 09:19:13 am
Planning to come to one of your talks!
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AuthorMatthew Smith, PhD (History). Public Programs at Miami University Regionals. Historian of Appalachia, the Ohio Valley, & the early American republic. Archives
February 2024
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