Looking to reconnect with the history of our area? The Library’s Local History Resource Page is a great place to start!
Located under Research Tools, you will find some great virtual resources to begin your own exploration of the history of Rocky River and the wider Northeast Ohio region. Have questions about using these resources? Contact our Reference Desk and we will be happy to assist.
This week we are providing links to resources might find helpful in your hunt when looking up the history of your home. These resources were assembled for a program that the library partnered in Virtual 4th Annual Living in the Digital World Senior Expo.
Cleveland Memory Project- Rocky River
In partnership with the Cleveland Memory Project, a digital history collection at Cleveland State University, we are digitizing our photograph collection. We are also adding photographs of Rocky River from the Cleveland Press Collection at CSU.– rrpl.org
http://www.clevelandmemory.org/rockyriver/index.html
Cleveland State Research Guides
This is the Library Guide for information on the history of greater Cleveland and NE Ohio. Notice the tabs across the top of this page, detailing specific types of resources and other information topics designed to help you. Note too that many of these pages give you room to comment and rate this information for usefulness. -csuohio.edu
http://researchguides.csuohio.edu/localhistory
Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer- Real Property
The Real Property department maintains a complete historical record of all property transactions, maintains records of property ownership, valuation, and taxation, and collects special assessments for public improvements. In addition, the Real Property department prepares the first and second half property tax duplicate, computes tax refunds, gives credits based on decisions by the Board of Revision, Board of Tax Appeals, the Appraisal department and the Courts.-fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us
https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/real-property.aspx
Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer- The Cuyahoga Recording Division
This site is provided to allow the citizens of Cuyahoga County, and the world, access to information housed at our office. Here you will find data on all the documents filed at the Recorder’s office from 1810 until present day. -fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/RecordedDocumentsServices.aspx
Sanborn Fire Maps
Fire insurance maps of Ohio from 1867 to 1970 for history and genealogy research. Library Card Required. -rrpl.org
http://www.oplin.org/sanborn
Our next featured local resource is the African American Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society.
Established in 1970, the archives mission is to “collect, preserve and make accessible historic documents, photographs, memorabilia, art, and artifacts pertaining to African American life, history and culture in Northeast Ohio.” Online you can browse through their catalog to see the archive’s holdings and its location within the Historical Society. Additionally they offer an useful subjects tab that lets you narrow your search results. It should be noted that there are materials that cover national history as well.
For information on the African American Archives Auxiliary or to find out how to support its work, contact:
Sherlynn Allen-Harris
African American Archives Auxiliary, Acting President
Western Reserve Historical Society, Board of Directors, Ex-Officio Member
sallenharris@ameritech.net
Additional programs at the Western Reserve Historical Society:
Our first featured local resource is Cleveland Historical: “Developed by the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University, Cleveland Historical lets you explore the people, places, and moments that have shaped the city’s history.”
There is an amazing wealth of information on landmarks and events telling the story of life in Cleveland. This site offers pictures, recorded oral history, news clippings, and cited sources to continue your own research. They organize topics by “Tours” which is centered around a single topic and the different Below is a link to African Americans in Cleveland, a Tour spanning over a 100 years of public and personal accounts.
In observance of African-American History Month we will be highlighting local African-American history and research from the Cleveland and the Northeast Ohio area. To start off we have an article from two years ago by the Plain Dealer which was the source material for the text I used in the display in our library.
-Greg
Read it or Weep 