Circleville, Ohio in 1938 was trying to recover from the Great Depression when these photographs of downtown street scenes were taken by Ben Shahn. Permanents were in vogue at the local beauty shop during this time. Downtown Circleville Coney Island hotdogs. Circleville reminisences: a description of Circleville, Ohio (1825-1840) ; also an account of the 115-year […]
During the Depression, Circleville, Ohio still had some business operating. Eshelman’s Feed Mill employed 150-200 men the year ’round. The pay averaged about eighty-five cents an hour. Another business, Container Corporation of America made paper out of straw and absorbed the by-product of all neighboring farms. In addition, there were still a number of canneries and […]
In the Great Depression, many Circleville, Ohio farms were foreclosed on and the farmers families were forced to move to town. The small town did their best to handle the large influx of people. Street Scenes Here are some street scenes from 1938 taken by Artist and photographer, Ben Shahn of people living there. The […]
Circleville is the county seat of Pickaway County, Ohio. Christopher Gist, was the first recorded European explorer to the area. When he arrived around 1750, he found ten families of the Delaware Indians from Pennsylvania in a settlement named Maguck. Town was named after Native American Hopewell culture earthwork More European settlers by 1810 and they […]
William Roth William Roth was one of the capitalists of Pickaway County, who owned considerable farming land and a large amount of real estate in Circleville, including the American House, which is a very fine hotel, has resided here since 1872. He was born in July, 1849, in Germany, and was a son of George […]
The stores of downtown Circleville, Ohio have probably changed many times over the years. The photographs below show Main and Court Street businesses in 1938 when taken by photographer Ben Shahn. Grand clock This is a grand clock outside the entrance of Butch Jewelers. L. P. Butch Jewelers was established by L. C. Butch, on […]
The historic town of Circleville, Ohio recovered from the Great Depression and is a town with over 13,000 residents. Each year the annual pumpkin festival hosts over 400,000 visitors. See vintage photographs of 1938 Circleville, Ohio. See larger image RIBBON OF LOVE: 2nd edition – A Novel of Colonial America (Tapestry of Love Book 1): […]
The town of Circleville, Ohio had difficulty housing many of the farmers of foreclosed homes in town. Consequently, shanty towns built by homeless people sprang up on the outskirts of town and were promptly named Hooverville as were many other shantytowns were named throughout the country. The towns were named after President Herbert Hoover who […]
