H. Roger Grant

Few American states can match the rich and diverse transportation heritage of Ohio. Every major form of public conveyance eventually served the Buckeye state. From the "Canal Age" to the "Interurban Era," Ohio emerged as a national leader. The state's central location, abundant natural resources, impressive wealth, shrewd business leadership, and episodes of good fortune explain the dynamic nature of its transport past. Ohio on the Move is the first systematic scholarly account of the transportation history of Ohio. To date, little has appeared on several subjects discussed here, including intercity bus and truck operations and commercial aviation. The more familiar topics of river and lake transport, canals, steam railroads, electric interurbans, and mass transit are extensively explored in the Ohio context. In this inaugural volume of Ohio University Press's Ohio Bicentennial Series, Professor Grant demonstrates the truth of the slogan that Ohio is "the heart of it all" - not solely by location but also in the impressive network of transportation arteries that have linked the state, whether natural waterways and air space or various artificial land-travel routes.

Few American states can match the rich and diverse transportation heritage of Ohio. Every major form of public conveyance eventually served the Buckeye state. From the "Canal Age" to the "Interurban Era," Ohio emerged as a national leader. The state's central location, abundant natural resources, impressive wealth, shrewd business leadership, and episodes of good fortune explain the dynamic nature of its transport past. Ohio on the Move is the first systematic scholarly account of the transportation history of Ohio. To date, little has appeared on several subjects discussed here, including intercity bus and truck operations and commercial aviation. The more familiar topics of river and lake transport, canals, steam railroads, electric interurbans, and mass transit are extensively explored in the Ohio context. In this inaugural volume of Ohio University Press's Ohio Bicentennial Series, Professor Grant demonstrates the truth of the slogan that Ohio is "the heart of it all" - not solely by location but also in the impressive network of transportation arteries that have linked the state, whether natural waterways and air space or various artificial land-travel routes.

Historians of midwestern railroading during the early part of the twentieth century have generally focused on the production of railroad company histories while ignoring the regional view. Fortunately for railway historians and buffs, coincidentally with the zenith of the Railway Age, the national fad for producing and mailing postcards was at its height. Millions of cards, including "real-photo" images, were produced between 1905 and 1915. Roger Grant has selected more than a hundred representative picture postcards to visualize the principal themes and characteristics that gave this dynamic industry its distinctive regional features.By the turn of the century, the railroad map of the Midwest was unequaled. Anyone who examined it carefully sensed that this was the vital center of America's massive network of steel rails. Depots erected in the western prairie environment were spartan, with only minor decoration, but those in the Midwest usually mirrored more ornate New England styles. These features are often reflected in the images in this heavily illustrated book, which depicts the spare but strong pioneering spirit of the enterprise.

The dream of an ideal social order has inspired the formation of experimental communities in America since colonial times. One of the most successful of these was the Spirit Fruit Society, founded in the late 1890s by Jacob Beilhart. In 1901, after purchasing a small farm outside Lisbon, Ohio, the Spirit Fruit society settled into a peaceful and industrious, if morally unorthodox, way of life that won the bemused affection of their neighbors. Unfortunately, the society experienced throughout its existence hostility from journalists and, despite the agricultural and domestic skills possessed by its members, financial hardship. These factors, among others, precipitated moves to Illinois in 1904 and to California in 1914.

From its incorporation in 1847 in Wisconsin Territory to its first run in 1851-twenty miles between Milwaukee and Waukesha-to its later position of far-flung power, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company had a vivid history. By 1948, the Milwaukee Road had more than 40,000 employees and maintained more than 10,000 miles of line in twelve states from Indiana to Washington. Also in 1948, August Derleth's popular and well-crafted corporate history celebrated the strength and status of this mighty carrier. On February 19, 1985, the railroad became a subsidiary of Soo Line Corporation and its identity vanished overnight. Nonetheless, it remains a romantic memory, and Derleth's book remains the only complete history of this innovative and dynamic railroad.