Toledo's Attic has reached 25 years in 2022! Since 1997, Toledo's Attic has been Toledo's and Northwest Ohio's virtual museum focusing on the region's commercial, industrial, and social history from the late 19th through the late 20th centuries. It began as a co-operative project led by the Department of History at The University of Toledo in 1997 and joined by the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, the Maumee Valley Historical Society, WGTE Public Media, and the Ward M. Canaday Center of the University of Toledo afterwards. Today, it is a public digital history and storytelling project to connect visitors with the history of the city and surrounding communities.
Toledo's Attic has been completely redesigned, reorganized, and migrated to an updated content management system. It features several original exhibits and galleries from the 1990s and now, there are 63 exhibits, over 4,000 images, and dozens of virtual ours using HistoryPin created over the past 25 years by professional historians, UT students, and other history enthusiasts in the Toledo and Northwest Ohio communities. Use the menu above to view the exhibits, discover resources, interact on social media, or find out more about Toledo's Attic.
Toledo’s Attic: The Beginnings - A commemorative essay by Dr. Timothy Messer-Kruse (original project lead in 1997) on the 25th anniversary of the Toledo's Attic project.
1902 Walking Tour - an original Toledo's Attic project (from 1998) resurrected for new technology: Tour Downtown Toledo of 1902 using the Sanboanr maps and use the Google Street view links for present views.
...and at least a dozen other original Toledo's Attic exhibits were restored. See Exhibits and Collections
Passport project - in collaboation with the Northwest Ohio Cultural Heritage Group, a new resource has been added to raise interest in regional history and cultural heritage
Postcard Puzzles - an interactive feature engaging visitors with the large postcard collection on Toledo's Attic. Viewing recommendation: use a larger screen (tablet, laptop, or desktop). Viewing experience varies on smartphones...besides put it down while driving!
Recent Exhibits
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Try an exhibit below or explore the exhibit themes below.
Richard Gosser, 1942
Exhibit Gallery
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by Timothy Messer-Kruse, October 1, 2002
Richard Gosser speaking on occasion of Army Navy production award given to Willys-Overland in 1942
In the history of labor in Toledo, no figure stands taller than Richard T. Gosser.
Gosser's life both spanned and reflected the major trends of labor in the Twentieth...
Let's meet up on social media! Toledo's Attic visitors can explore local history information resources, meet local history enthusiast, and engage in discussions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. You can share your photos and videos of historically significant places in the area with others or see what others have...
Ford Model T
Willys Jeep
Exhibit Gallery
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Henry Ford, portrait
1908 was a pivotal year in the history of the American automobile. Events such as the introduction of the Model T Ford, the automobile that revolutionized the manufacture of the automobile and most mass marketed goods
The Model T affected all forms of industry and...
Barney Oldfield
Exhibit Gallery
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Barney Oldfield
Barney Oldfield was born in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Wauseon, Ohio. In 1889, when he was 11 years old, he moved with his family to Toledo. By 1904, Oldfield was America's most famous race car driver, owning the most track wins and virtually all the...
Discover important facts about the area's history here! Toledo's Attic is linked to several digital archives, library catalogs, and databases to support local history research. While traditional archives maintain rare book and manuscript collections, the growing volume of digital content provide access to historical collections of documents, photographs, and recordings....
Over the past few decades, genealogical research has been revolutionized with the help of electronic databases, DNA analysis, and improved access to historical documents at libraries and archives. The growing number of Web resources and available volunteers have also made a considerable difference to those who could not find information...
Erwin P. Raymond - Colonel William H. Raynor - Frazier Reams - Dr. Calvin Hamilton Reed - S.C. Reynolds and W. B. Reynolds - Ramson Richards - William Edgar Richards - George W. Ritter - Jefferson D. Robinson - Horton C. Rorick
Erwin P. Raymond
Erwin P. Raymond was a prominent Toledo attorney,...
The first issue of the Quarterly Bulletins (1929, volume 1, number 1) published by the Historical Society of Northwest Ohio, the predecessor of the Maumee Valley Historical Society.
Northwest Ohio History - The journal (formerly known as the Northwest Ohio Quarterly and even before that the Quarterly Bulletins, starting in 1929)...
"Our Girls' Club Magazine"
Toledo working women banded together in the early twentieth century for support and camaraderie. Our Club Girls Magazine stood for the "social and commercial education of young wage-earning women." Experience life for young working women through its pages. This exhibit is drawn from four issues of Our...
Bottle Machine
Exhibit Gallery
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The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections at the University of Toledo has recently received a collection of records and artifacts from the Owens-Illinois company. This large collection includes business documents, bottle catalogs, photographs, films, books, patents, stock certificates, company newsletters, press releases and two collections of...
St. Patrick's Church
Exhibit Gallery
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Essay and photographs by Gregory Johnson, 2007 Revised by Tamara Jones, 2012
This is a brief history, in both pictures and text, of the creation and renovation of the Historic St. Patrick's Church of Toledo. Archival footage courtesy of The Historic Church of St. Patrick's and the Toledo...
Clarence Lamb - George W. Lathrop - Gustav A. Lay - The Charles T. Lewis Family - Edward Drummond Libbey - Gilson Don Light - David Ross Locke - Robinson Locke
Clarence Lamb
Clarence Lamb was born on August 1, 1854, in Hornell, New York. As a young man, Lamb came to...
Project Description
The Northwest Ohio Cultural Heritage Group (formed in 2019) is a collaborative group of archives, museums, public and private libraries, historical societies and other cultural heritage institutions in NW Ohio and has just created its first project--a passport book featuring over 50 cultural heritage institutions throughout 19 counties of...
The Tiedtke Brothers - Sergeant Ernst Torgler - Thomas H. Tracy - Morrison Remmick Waite - The Walbridge Family - William Spooner Walbridge - Herbert Whitney - Alvin Mansfield Woolson - Samuel Young
The Tiedtke Brothers
The Tiedtke brothers were active members of the Toledo community and during their lives experienced financial success...
Rotary Club of Toledo
Exhibit Gallery
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Rotary Club of Toledo Emblem
The Toledo Rotary Club was founded in May of 1912 in the Chamber of Commerce of Toledo. During its 90+ years of service, the Rotary Club of Toledo has been instrumental in helping physically and developmentally disabled children as well as...
Experiencing War
Exhibit Gallery
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Steven Pecsenye's Letters from the Front
Steven Pecsenye was a second-generation Hungarian who was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. He attended Macomber High School and studied at the Toledo Museum of Art as well as in Salzburg, Austria.
Steven Pecsenye
Upon his graduation from high school, he entered the Army...
by Timothy Messer-Kruse
A monument is a curious way to record history. It is the oldest, most ancient form of history writing (what else is a pyramid or a statue but a memorial of some past?) and still remains a popular means of expressing historical ideas. Like the ancients, our society...
The History of the Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association and The Middle Bass Club
By Marie Demer Rader, July 2021
Original Club (1874-1922)
The Original Club consisted of the Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association (1874-1894) and the renamed Middle Bass Club (1894-1922). The prominent Toledo families...
Archives
Bowling Green State University, Center for Archival Collections
Ohio History Connection, State Archives
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum: Research and Collections
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: Presidential Libraries
The University of Toledo, Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections
Veterans History Project...
Paul Laurence Dunbar and Herbert Woodward Martin
Exhibit Gallery
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Dunbar and Martin: Printed with the Same Ink
By Patrick Cook
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872 as the son of former slaves. Showing potential from a tender age, Dunbar was the first African American poet...
John Gunkel
Exhibit Gallery
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by Tedd A. Long
Each December, members of Toledo’s Old Newsboys Goodfellow Association are seen throughout Northwest Ohio as they conduct their annual charity paper sale. Many people recognize their familiar canvas newspaper bags and homemade donation buckets, but few actually know the story behind the origins of one...
Toledo Fire Rescue Department Patch
Exhibit Gallery
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A Century of Fire: Toledo's Firefighting History
Bill O'Connor and Herb Zieman.Fire Rescue Department Patch 1936 Schacht Ladder Truck
The Toledo Fire Department dates back to 1837. This exhibit explores the rich and colorful history of the fire department, examining the firefighters, their equipment, and the fires...
An illustrated historical atlas of Lucas and part of Wood Counties, Ohio (Chicago : Andreas & Baskin, 1875) presents township maps and illustrations of homes and townscapes as they were seen in 1875. Most structures are gone but some of the landscape, water ways, and some roads are recognizable. You...
Josina Lott
Exhibit Gallery
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By Mary Koslovsky (July 2004) and Cathy Seitz Whitaker (August 2005)
Josina Lott with Sheltered Workshop sign
Josina Lott, Part I: Lott Day School
Josina Jones Lott believed that every child, regardless of physical or mental limitations, had ability and could learn. She began Lott Day School in her apartment in September...
The entrance to Woodlawn Cemetery
Exhibit Gallery
Photo credits: Josef Schneider (all Woodlawn photogragraphs) and Larry Leach (Doria and Thomas T Tracy).
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Historic Woodlawn Cemetery was recognized as a National Historic site in 1998. The overall landscape design, which follows the principles of the rural cemetery movement, is a significant feature of the...
Moses Fleetwood Walker
Exhibit Gallery
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African-American athletes in Toledo sport history
From Moses Fleetwood and Welday Walker and the 1883 Toledo Blue Stockings, to the African American sparring partners who helped train Jack Dempsey for his crushing defeat of Jess Willard in 1919, to the various twentieth century football players at the University...
Remembering Battery B
Sue Stankey, Editor Bill Hinsch, Art Director
In Today’s cover story, Robert G. Morris, a local attorney, writes about Toledo men, including his father, Tom Morris, who went into World War I together as members of Battery B. [Read the complete article in Toledo Magazine, March 27, 1988, p....
Libbey Cut Glass Works
Glass from the Past: An Exhibition of Collectable Glass at the Wolcott House
The original announcement of the exhibition in 2001
The Lucas County-Maumee Valley Historical Society is proud to display its collection of historic and antique glass beginning April 4, 2001 at the Wolcott House Museum Complex, 1031...
The Pope Toledo Motor Car Building, Toledo, Ohio, 1905
Exhibit Gallery
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by Timothy Messer-Kruse, December 1999
The Pope Toledo Motor Car Building, Toledo, Ohio, 1905
Toledo has had a long and continuous automotive history. For Toledo, the year 2000 will not only mark the great roll-over of the millennial odometer, but will also be...
The list below includes archive websites and digital collections maintained by states and territories (marked by *) in the U.S. Many regional collections are jointly created and maintained by multiple states and these collections tell the stories of communities in those areas.
Arrangements: By State and Territories -- Diverse and Underrepresented...
Toledo Humane Society
Exhibit Gallery
All images were published here with permission from the Toledo Area Humane Society
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by Arjun Sabharwal
Toledo Produce Exchange
The Toledo Humane Society formed on January 29, 1884 and incorporated on February 14, 1884 , following meetings held at the Richard Mott's Home and Toledo Produce Exchange in Downtown Toledo...
« Toledo Sister City Digital Heritage: A Virtual Exhibition
Toledo, Ohio
Use the index on the right to view information on a sister city.
Map of Toledo, Ohio, USA
Wikipedia: "Toledo (/təˈliːdoʊ/) is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio after Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, and it is the county seat...
Boys and Girls Club of Toledo
Exhibit Gallery
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Saluting the American flag at Camp
The roots of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Toledo can be traced back more than a century to the Toledo Newsboys Association begun by John Gunckel in 1892. Although the name of the organization has changed on more...
Our Toledo
Exhibit Gallery
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by Timothy Messer-Kruse, 2001
Program (cover) for the Toledo Girls Waltz
Every great city has its songs. Some, like Sinatra’s New York, New York, or Tony Bennett’s I Left My Heart in San Francisco evoke images that capture a city’s spirit. Some, like Woody Payne’s Sweet Home Chicago [*], become...
Time in a Bottle: A History of Owens-Illinois, Inc.
Bottle Machine with workers
It was called the most significant advance in the production of glass in 2000 years. It has been designated as an international historic engineering landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1913, it received a commendation from...
S.S. Willis Boyer
Exhibit Gallery
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Side view of the S.S. Willis Boyer pilot house.
In the shadow of the downtown Toledo skyline, moored alongside the rolling landscape of International Park, a splash of history and romance awaits you on the S.S. Willis B. Boyer. Careful, authentic restoration has made the ship come alive!...
Toledo Civic Hall of Fame Commission
Exhibit Gallery
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This exhibit is available in PDF format also. [PDF link]
Introduction
Toledo Civic Hall of Fame Commission
Mayor Carty Finkbeiner began the Toledo Civic Hall of Fame in 1998. The Mayor appointed a nine-member commission to select four to eight people who had died at least two...
James Ashley, Sr. - Roy William Babcock - Marcus Barbour - Rudolph A. Bartley - James Baumgardner - Bentley Family - John Berdan - Charles H. Breyman - Otis Avery Browning
James Ashley, Sr.
James Ashley Sr.
James Ashley, Sr. was born in 1824 in Allegheny County Pennsylvania.Unless otherwise noted all information is...
Samuel M. Jones
Exhibit Gallery
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Timothy Messer-Kruse
Samuel Milton "Golden Rule" Jones was nominated for mayor of Toledo at a tumultuous Republican convention on February 25, 1897. That day would usher in a nearly two decade period of reform government in the city and would propel Mayor Jones to national, and even international...
Revised by Tamara Jones, 2012
ABOUT THESE PAGES –The pages that follow are intended to be a comprehensive listing of Toledoans and northwestern Ohioans who have achieved a certain measure of national fame in the world of sports. The listing is a work in progress and the author welcomes additional information...
By Emily Ruckel, M.A. Public/Applied History
January 6, 2013 marked the 125th anniversary of the Toledo State Hospital (TSH), now known as the Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital. The last 125 years have witnessed many changes including various names, buildings that have come and gone, shifting philosophies of insanity, and a variety...
Speech and Hearing Building
Exhibit Gallery
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Toledo Hearing and Speech Center: A Century of Service
by Lauren White, Manuscripts Librarian, Ward M. Canaday Center
Speech and Hearing Advertising Speech and Hearing Therapy
The Toledo Hearing and Speech Center (THSC) was born out of Bessie Dewey Anderson’s own experiences with hearing loss. In 1915, as...
Gustavus Ohlinger
Exhibit Gallery
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Essay by Patrick Cook (November 2013)
Gustavus Ohlinger was born into extraordinary circumstance. His parents, Franklin and Bertha Ohlinger, served as missionaries in Foochow, China. It was in Foochow on July 15, 1877, that Gustavus was born to his Methodist missionary parents more than seventy five hundred miles from...
Albert E. Macomber - Guido Marx - William V. McMaken - George Stratford Mills - Clement Orville Miniger - Raymon Mulford - Elizabeth Mulholland - Lynn M. Murphy - Colonel Henry. G. Neubert - Albert Neukom - C. Burton Nickels - Charles Northup - John William Oswald - Earle L....
Twister Ad
Exhibit Gallery
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Memories of Semi-Pro Basketball in Toledo: Twisters of 1961-62 and Tartans of 1962-63
By: Ken Kander
As the statistician for Toledo’s minor league professional basketball teams in the early 1960s, I was able to meet some future NBA stars, a few college superstars, several former University of Toledo players, and...
Edwin F. Damschroder Sr. - Isaac Horning Detwiler - Henry Dodge - Charles C. Doolittle - John Hardy Doyle - John Felker - Stevens Warren Flower - George R. Ford - Albert V. Foster - John W. Fuller
Edwin F. Damschroder, Sr.
Edwin F. Damschroder Sr., was born in Elmore, Ohio, in...
Greater Toledo: The City in the World (case views and galleries)
By the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collection
Exhibit Case 1 -- Exhibit Case 2 -- Exhibit Case 3 -- Exhibit Case 4 -- Exhibit Case 5 -- Exhibit Case 6 -- Exhibit Case 7 -- Exhibit Case 8 --...
Pinterest: Toledo Sister Cities -- Libraries
In 1931, Toledo, Ohio and Toledo Spain forged the world's first sister-city relationship. While Toledo may have been named after the former capital of Spain, Toledo, on December 1, 1837, the latter responded with gifts of swords and other items in 1876. Toledo's steel industry...
Model 118
Exhibit Gallery
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by Timothy Messer-Kruse
Toledo's Attic and Toledo Scale
Among the most recognized brand names of the twentieth century is Toledo Scale, a company whose headquarters and primary design and production facilities were located in its namesake. One of the greatest achievements of the Toledo's Attic Committee (especially its point man...
« Historical Essay
Use the index on the right to view the individual archives. If you have questions about these photographs, can identify any people in the photographs/videos, or have photographs to add, please contact Marie Demer Rader at marie.rader@gmail.com.
Members
This archive contains photographs of Middle Bass Club members enjoying themselves...
Aerial View of the University of Toledo Campus
Exhibit Gallery
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by Barbara Floyd
"...We believe you are going to respond to the challenge of a beautiful environment, that the traditions which have grown up about this noble architecture will stimulate you to greater efforts in learning, and to finer decorum, and to...
Alonzo Chesbrough - Albert "Bert" S. Close - Elmer Harry Close - Frank Collins* - John Craig - Frank, Howard and George Crosby/Crosby Brothers - Frances Crosby - William Culver - Judge Joseph W. Cummings - Robert S. Cummings - William Cummings
*The original list from 1995 (not used herein)...
Toledo Topics (cover)
Exhibit Gallery
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Toledo Topics: Life at the Top in Jazz Age Toledo
by Timothy Messer-Kruse
Cover of the November 1926 issue
For Toledo industrialists, times could not have been better. For Toledo, as for the nation as a whole, the 1920s were a time of great industrial expansion. In that decade, still...
"Faith, Vision and Hard Work: The University of Toledo, 1872-2022" (Exhibition focusing on the history of the University of Toledo) [More on this exhibition...]