20th century – Noel B. Poirier

One House’s Story: The Brown Family

The Brown House on West Front Street in New Philadelphia, Ohio, 2018. (Source: google.com)

I have always said that every house tells a story no matter how modest the house may be or what it’s modern appearance may be. This small, working-class house on the west end of New Philadelphia is an example of just that truth. A note about addresses: House numbers and street names often change overContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Brown Family”

One House’s Story: Flaccus Brothers

The Flaccus Brothers house on Front Street SW in New Philadelphia, Ohio, 2018. (Source: google.com)

I’ve driven past this New Philadelphia building many times and, given its proximity to the railroad tracks, had always assumed it was somehow connected to a railroad. I now know that it was associated with an entirely different type of business that sat on that property for many years at the beginning of the 20thContinue reading “One House’s Story: Flaccus Brothers”

A Tuscarawas County Find: The Journal of George H. Zimmerman

Journal entry from the George H. Zimmerman journal found at a New Philadelphia thrift store, 1912.

The other day my wife came home from visiting local thrift stores with an interesting item. She purchased what appeared to be the journal of a person named George H. Zimmerman (1889-1946) and I, being me, needed to learn more. How George H. Zimmerman’s journal for the year 1912 ended up in a Tuscarawas CountyContinue reading “A Tuscarawas County Find: The Journal of George H. Zimmerman”

Ruffled Feathers: A Gunfight at the County Jail

Aerial view of the Tuscarawas County Jail and grounds, c. 1930. (Source: ohiomemory.org)

Early in the evening on a cold February night in 1912 neighbors of the Tuscarawas County Jail on East Fair Street in New Philadelphia heard the sounds of gunfire ring out. It was the exclamation point on a busy and successful weekend by local law enforcement, having broken up a large gambling event two daysContinue reading “Ruffled Feathers: A Gunfight at the County Jail”

Decapitated and Burned: Explosion at the Stone House Mine

Two miners digging coal in a coal mine in North Dakota, c. 1925. (Source: dp.la)

Recently I posted an image of a Bureau of Mines Mine Rescue Car that visited the mining town of Roswell in 1923. That image, and a comment from someone who saw it, led me to examine a tragic incident from 1927 that occurred at a local Tuscarawas County coal mine outside of Mineral City. TwoContinue reading “Decapitated and Burned: Explosion at the Stone House Mine”

Mine Rescue Car Visits Roswell

Detail from a larger image of the men who attended the Mine Rescue Car during its visit to Roswell, Tuscarawas County, January 1923.

My neighbor gave me a panoramic image taken in December 1923 titled “Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines, Car #5, at Roswell, Ohio, December 1923” that shows the miners of that community and even lists some of their names. Recognize anyone? During the first few decades of the 20th century nearly a million people workedContinue reading “Mine Rescue Car Visits Roswell”

One House’s Story: The Eberhardt Family

The Eberhardt House, 2019. (Source: google.com)

There was a family of builders who, during the last half of the 19th century, may have accounted for many of the houses and buildings constructed throughout the city of New Philadelphia. It is only fitting that we look at a house that they not only lived in but may have even constructed. A noteContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Eberhardt Family”

One House’s Story: The Schlup Family

The Samuel and Emma Schlup House on West High Street, New Philadelphia, Ohio, 2019. (Source: google.com)

There is a house that now stands as the only remaining residential building on the north side of the 500 block of West High Street in New Philadelphia. Its story is tied to that of a successful New Philadelphia merchant who lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A note about addresses: HouseContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Schlup Family”

One House’s Story: The Walton Family (no, not them)

Walton House, 410 Fair Ave NW in 2012 (Source: google.com)

When you drive down Fair Avenue in New Philadelphia, Ohio you see a variety of homes in differing architectural styles and in differing states of repair. One house on the 400 block of Fair Avenue NW is currently being worked on in preparation of once again becoming someone’s home. This is a story from thatContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Walton Family (no, not them)”

One House’s Story: Gershom & Mary Kilgore of Port Washington

Mary M. Kilgore House, Port Washington, Ohio

I once again decided to try to tell a story from the history of a house depicted in the Tuscarawas County Atlas of 1875, hoping to be able to find something interesting worth telling. I was not disappointed by the story that can be told about a house recorded in the Atlas as the “Res.Continue reading “One House’s Story: Gershom & Mary Kilgore of Port Washington”