Historic Item Collection

Title

Historic Item Collection

Description

Physical items housed in the Local History Department of the Portsmouth Public Library.

Collection Items

Excelsior Shoe Company Medallion
Gold colored metal medallion showing a horse and rider on one side and a native American good luck symbol on the reverse. Forrest and A. Grave Williams, brothers, started the Excelsior Manufacturing Company at Pig Iron Corner in Portsmouth, Ohio…

Photo copy of First National Bank of Portsmouth Ten dollar bill
Color photo copy ten dollar denomination dated February 25, 1903 issued by the First National Bank of Portsmouth. The 1904 Portsmouth City Directory lists the First National Bank at 127 Market Street, officers: J.W. Bannon, Pres., A.M. Damarin,…

Scioto County Tax Anticipatory Note $5.00
Paper Anticipatory Tax Note issued by Scioto County dated December 1, 1934. This script was authorized by the county commissioners Austin Taylor, E.E. Rickey and Cliff Dever. County Auditor Henry H. Eccles countersigned the notes. It states: "This…

Grand Army of the Republic - Bailey Post 164 Formation Document
This certificate documents the founding of the Bailey Post 164 of the Grand Army of the Republic in November 1881. It was named in honor of George Bailey, who organized the Kinney Light Guards, which eventually became the 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry…

Lithograph of Bird's Eye View of Portsmouth 1871
Faintly tinted drawing of Portsmouth as if viewed from the air in 1871. Businesses and prominent residences are numbered 1 thru 32 on the drawing and identified by number in the margins.

Joseph Miller's Tobacco Pipe Tomahawk
Blacksmith Christy Hare made this tomahawk tobacco pipe for pioneer settler Joseph Miller (1762-1845). It measures 6.5 by 14 inches (16.51 by 35.56 cm). Miller kept the tomahawk, which he used as both a weapon and a pipe for smoking tobacco, with…

Passenger Pigeon
This passenger pigeon was shot in an orchard on Offnere Street in Portsmouth, Ohio by Arthur Bannon around 1882. He presented it to his mother, a taxidermist, who wanted a specimen of the nearly extinct bird for her collection. The male passenger…

Portsmouth Fullerton Bridge ticket
3 tickets tan in color with red print. The first U.S. Grant Bridge was a toll bridge for many years.

Isaac Bonser Glasses
Isaac Bonser, 1767 - 1849, was an early pioneer of Scioto County. He settled along the Little Scioto in 1795 and later built the first water powered mill at Bonser's Run near present Sciotoville.

Lucasville Area Sesquicentennial 1819-1969
Wooden coin with Native American on one side and farm scene and title on other side. Lucasville was platted by John Lucas on August 7, 1819.

1961 Glenwood High School Football Charm
Silver with tarnish football charm with red "G" and 1961. The 1961 Tartan East High School Yearbook lists 10 football victories out of 10 S.O.C. games scheduled.

Portsmouth 1965 Sesquicentennial Souvenir Half-Dollar
June 1965 Portsmouth Sesquicentennial Souvenir half-dollar coin with gold color; some tarnish. One side depicts Native American and valley, other side redeeming information. On December 29, 1814 the Ohio legislature passed an act to incorporate the…
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Collection Tree

  • Historic Item Collection