Cincinnati Terminal: “Cincinnati in Motion”

Cincinnati Museum

On April 5, I went to visit the Cincinnati Terminal to observe the history exhibits. There were multiple exhibits to view about Ohio’s history, WWII, and landscape of Cincinnati. The exhibit that I enjoyed learning about was called, “Cincinnati in Motion” at the beginning of the museum. College students, teachers, and volunteers who were interested  in reconstructing the Downtown Cincinnati landscape during the Industrial period constructed it in 1998. This exhibit is 3500 square feet, which is the largest model in the world that consists of 3400 figures and 400 vehicles to bring downtown Cincinnati to life within the exhibit.

There were three main parts of the exhibit I thought were interesting. The transportation system, Proctor & Gamble Company, and Mount Auburn Incline. These models had significant information describing how the people who lived downtown developed a way of life during the Great Depression and War World II.  The first model I enjoyed reading about was Ohio’s transportation system. In the Nineteenth and Twentieth century, Ohio trade was an important concept to individuals who were making profitable income to support their families by trading domestic goods along the Ohio River. Many boats had imported goods from other locations to trade with different companies to make a profit. There was different competition that affected river trade, which was the railroad system and trucks transporting goods from other locations. This new transportation changed Cincinnati from walking to where goods were traded to reconstruct a city with streetcars, locomotives, and automobiles.

The second model I was interested in was called, “Ivorydale in 1910’s.”  In 1885, one of the largest companies in the world was constructed in Downtown Cincinnati. This business was called “Proctor & Gamble company,” that was located in Ivorydale, Ohio. This business product for consumers that to be used in households and in the war. The famous product used by so many consumers and is still being produced today s called “Ivory Soap.” Proctor and Gamble Company invented many products to help families develop their way of living and assisted the individuals who went into the war. The products produced in this company were Crisco, laundry detergent, first aid kits, and glycerin. The company supported the men and women who served in World War II. The product, glycerin, was used as an explosive to help fight off the Nazis. The type of transportation system the company used to transport their products to other locations was the railroad system. Picture: Proctor and Gamble Company

The third model I was interested in was called, “Mount Auburn Incline.” This model had many features describing the demographics of the outer part of Downtown Cincinnati. This location had the development of suburbs to raise a middle class family. The wealthy consumers were motivated to escape to this area to earn a better living. There was a better transportation system created for the migration of middle class families moving into the area. In 1887, the Mount Auburn Cable Railway was constructed for the middle class families to travel to the downtown area.

I was amazed by the design of the models and learned the history about Downtown Cincinnati. I walked around to explore and observe other exhibits within the museum. I learned more information from this exhibit to give me my idea for my project.

Reference to: www.cincinnatimuseum.com

 

 

 

Cincinnati in Motion: the different types of trains transport good through Cincinnati.

Cincinnati in Motion: BB River Boat

Cincinnati Museum

The National Cash Register Company Inspires The City of Dayton 1900-1930

“The American people are progressing inventors. To handicap the spirit of inventor is to handicap the progress of the  world” Quoted by John H. Patterson

In the 1920’s, the city of Dayton was progressing into Industrialism. The revolution of industrialism was innovated by a Dayton business leader who wanted to make money and create employment opportunities of the people living in the Dayton area. John H. Patterson was the founder of “The National Cash Register Company” who wanted to improve the living standards, education opportunities, and housing arrangement. After the flood in 1913, Patterson created his business from investing in stocks that would develop employment for the Gem City who were affected by this natural disaster. The type of business Patterson built was constructing multiple departments within the company to fund school programs, recreation, transportation, and financial needs. The three main departments Patterson favored were the inventions department, the typewriting department, and the welfare program.

The inventions department was created after Patterson discovered the use of a cash register. This technology was the motivator to mobilize his company to construct more demand to sell to other companies around the city. In 1904, Patterson started working with a local inventor and business man, Charles Kettering. They worked together to invent brand new technology to enhance production on cash registers. This new invention was called the “O.K. charge phone” which was attached to the register to register a charge for a center product. This invention increased demand to buy more cash registers to use in local department stores. In the book, Ohio: History of People, the author, Canton said, “Kettering made a fetish of hard work. He liked to call cost of the ‘first dimensions’ of engineering. He thought experts never accomplished much because they knew too much and were too cautious”(Canton, pg 177).  Patterson and Kettering shared the same work ethic to have a purpose to create more goods and services in  the Dayton area.

The typewriting department was designed by Patterson to motivate women who lived in Dayton and did not have the same opportunities as men did. He observed that women had smaller fingers compared to men and would be able to type documents faster. This was an opportunity for women to serve in the same field of work to take over clerk and secretary jobs. There were other employment opportunities for women to take cooking classes, help with the laundry, and to teach at the NCR school house.

 The welfare program for NCR employees benefited them to work in a healthy environment and receive minimal hours of labor.  Patterson was worried about the welfare of the people living in the Dayton area who were not receiving minimal hours and working in terrible conditions. In the book, Grand Plans: Business Progressivism and Social Change in Ohio’s Miami Valley, the author Judith Sealander wrote, “The National Cash Register Company used welfare work, then in hopes of increasing work force productivity and efficiency and of thwarting carelessness, absenteeism, even work sabotage.” <Grand Plans page 35>. He wanted to change the work atmosphere to keep his employees to work hard and to stay longer to boost the economy.

Reference to:

Cayton, Andrew. Ohio The History of People. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2002. Print.

Watson, C (2002). Dayton Comes of Age: The City Through The Eyes Of John H, Patterson 1897-1922. Dayton Ohio: Montgomery County Historical Society.

Opitional Work April 21, 2009

On April 21, I read an article called, “Project Muse: The Connecticut Genesis the Western Reserve 1630-1796” written by Robert A. Wheeler. This article is about how the British were taking over the majority of land to spread their authority over the Native American lands to expand their settlements to the Northern territories. In 1631, many settlers were relocating to the Northern regions of the New World. The Native Americans who were protecting the land from foreign invaders owned the land. The British threatened Native Americans to make them retreat to the West because the Native American land was valuable in natural resources. The British created a patent called, “WarWick” to control the majority of land owned by the Native Americans and the Dutch. King Charles II revised the patent to make it official to guarantee the land rights to the British territory including the borders of Connecticut. The author, Wheeler, described about how the land of Connecticut was very valuable to the British for constructing more settlements but the Native Americans fought for the land.

In 1681, the British attacked the borders of Connecticut to control the land and agreed to give the western part of Connecticut to William Penn. He was the founder of the Pennsylvania territory. The author, Wheeler, explained in the article how the settlers had conflicts with the British about land right, economic issues, and transportation. King Charles II had control over most of Connecticut’s land and would not allow settlers to have the rights to take care of these issues. It took thirty years for settlers and investors to fight to claim the land to build colonies and reserve the rights for democratic settlement.

Reference to:

Wheeler, Robert Project Muse . Retrieved May 31, 2009, from The Connecticut Gensis of Western Reserve 1630-1796 Web site: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ohio_history/v114/114.wheeler.pdf