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This historic synagogue symbolizes the work of one of the most important figures in nineteenth-century American Jewry, Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900). The Bohemian-born rabbi’s many achievements include the establishment of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1873, Hebrew Union College in 1875, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1889. Wise’s leadership made Cincinnati a center for Reform Judaism in America. The Plum Street Temple, designed by Cincinnati architect James Keys Wilson and built in 1865-1866 for the B’nai Yeshurun congregation during Wise’s tenure, is one of the best-preserved Moorish Revival buildings in the United States. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
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Landscape architect Howard Daniels designed the original portion of Green Lawn Cemetery in 1848. Noted Columbus architect Frank Packard designed Green Lawn’s Chapel mausoleum, the Hayden family mausoleum, and the Packard mausoleum. Spanning over 360 acres, the cemetery’s wooded setting provides a habitat for a variety of birds and other wildlife. The Chapel contains stunning stained glass windows and mosaic artwork by Tiffany & Company of New York. The monuments, obelisks, and memorials throughout the cemetery represent a wealth of artwork and a history of Columbus. As one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Ohio, Green Lawn is the resting-place of many noted individuals who have made significant contributions to Columbus, Franklin County and the nation.
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On June 25, 1839, Greater Cincinnati Water Works became the first publicly owned water system in Ohio, when the city purchased a privately owned water company in operation since 1821. This purchase required approval of the voters of Cincinnati and authorization by the Ohio State Legislature. The Water Works, with two steam pumps at this site, three and a half miles of iron pipe, and 19 miles of wooden pipe, provided one million gallons of water per day. Front Street Pumping Station (ruins at this site) replaced earlier facilities and operated from 1865 to1907.
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The Lincoln School building stood at 2402 Central Avenue for almost a century. In 1919, a twenty-year bond levy provided for the construction of five schools, including the “new east school” Lincoln Elementary. Construction began in 1921 on the eight-acre site while students attended classes in temporary structures. Lincoln School opened in 1923 with 500 students enrolled. Lincoln Field, football grounds for McKinley High School’s “Middies,” stood behind Lincoln from 1930 until 1950 when Barnitz Field Stadium was built on South Main Street. Additions to the original Lincoln building included a maintenance annex in 1935 and a gymnasium in 1959. Lincoln School closed in November 1980 during a 1980-1981 Middletown City School District reorganization. Students from Lincoln and Sherman schools moved to the refurbished Roosevelt School at 2701 Central Avenue.
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The Livingston House was the home of Alexander Livingston (1821-1898). In 1864-1865, Nathan Orcutt, cabinetmaker, built Livingston’s house with slate roof, clapboard siding, ash floors, twenty-one windows and four doors, central fireplace, seven bedrooms, two kitchens, pantry, parlor, and living room. Outbuildings included a milk house and a long work shed. Blue freestone for the foundation was locally cut from William Forrester’s quarry. Sawed stone formed the summer kitchen and washhouse floor and the basement walls. The woodwork was hand-carved and the entire house had a “furniture finish.” Livingston and his family lived here until 1880.
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Salmon Portland Chase, a renowned lawyer and statesman, was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, on January 13, 1808. He came to Ohio in 1820 and attended Cincinnati College (1822-23). Chase returned to New Hampshire and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1826. He studied law under U.S. Attorney General William Wirt in Washington D.C. and was admitted to the bar in December 1829. He then moved back to Cincinnati and in September 1830 established his law office and residence on the first floor of a brick building that stood at the northeast corner of 3rd and Main Streets. Chase gained national recognition as an anti-slavery attorney and politician and by aiding in the organization of the Liberty, Free-Soil, and Republican parties. He served as a Cincinnati city councilman (1840-41), U.S. senator from Ohio (1849-55), and was the first Republican governor of Ohio (1856-60). (continued on other side)
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Founded by Saint Elizabeth Bayley Seton in Maryland in 1809, the Sisters of Charity arrived in Cincinnati in 1829 to open a school and an orphanage, becoming the first permanent establishment of Catholic sisters in Ohio. In 1852 the group separated from its Maryland roots to form a diocesan community and called themselves the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. The sisters later served as nurses in the Civil War as well as operated and staffed a number of Catholic elementary and secondary schools. As membership grew, their ministries and educational, health care, and social service institutions expanded in Cincinnati and elsewhere, including out of state. They include the Good Samaritan Hospital, College of Mount St. Joseph, St. Joseph Infant and Maternity Home, Santa Maria Social Service Agency, and Seton High School in Cincinnati and Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton. Mount St. Joseph has served as the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity since 1884.
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The West Park African American community began in 1809 with the first black settler and one of the earliest residents of the area, inventor and farmer George Peake. With the growth of the railroad industry, African Americans were encouraged to move into the area to work at the New York Central Round House and Train Station located in Linndale. First among these, in 1912, were Beary Frierson and Henry Sharp. As more and more African Americans came, African American institutions followed. In 1919, Reverend Thomas Evans and the families of Herndon Anderson and Joseph Williams founded St. Paul A.M.E. Church, the first black congregation on Cleveland’s West Side. Reverend D.R. Shaw, the Ebb Strowder family and Iler Burrow established the Second Calvary Baptist Church in 1923. Both became pillars of the community.