Licking County Records & Archives Blog

Record of the Month! This month we are featuring an 1888 investment bond from the Newark-Granville Electric Street Railway Company. In the latter 19 th Century the United States was a burgeoning electric power. The electric light bulb, invented in 1878 by Ohioan Thomas Edison, was slowly becoming more mainstream, along with a range of other electrically powered devices. One industry that jumped at the new technology was transportation. Railways were on the rise due to their comfort and speed for long-distance travel. Horse drawn streetcars (or trollies) were the primary form of public transportation for more local travel. On December 28, 1889, a new electric streetcar began its seven mile route from Newark to Granville. As a result, Ohio became one of the first states in the Union to have an interurban electric streetcar. Today there is some debate among historians as to whether or not the the Newark-Granville line can be rightfully called the first interurban route ...

Construction materials being unloaded at the future site of  the Licking County Records & Archives Department Palmetto Construction employees have been steadily working for several weeks on our future building.  A lot of renovation has already been accomplished inside the former garages and workshops of the Maintenance Department, and work on extending the current building to the south has commenced. Trenches indicate where the new outer walls will be located. Our department hopes to move into the new facility early in 2018.  We will be consolidating many more county government collections in one location.  Hopefully this will make it a lot easier for the public to get access to county records.  We also will be more conveniently located near other downtown agencies. Working on the west wall

Bill Markley had a rewarding and enjoyable time at the Homeschoolers' Resource Fair on August 7.  The Records & Archives Department presented a display at the event, along with several other local organizations.  The fair is held annually at the Spring Hills Baptist Church in Granville. Children, parents and grandparents visit displays at the 2017 Homeschoolers' Resource Fair Many homeschooling parents and children remarked on the beautiful cursive writing in our 19th-Century documents, and how some elementary schools today have stopped teaching cursive. Children and parents are welcome to visit the Records & Archives facility to work on educational projects, or to just explore through old county records.  Please call us first to arrange an appointment, at tel. 740-670-5121.

A new display, “Transportation in Licking County: A Brief History”, is in the lobby of the county administration building.  Intern Kady Wolfe and Records Manager Sophia McGuire created the display.  Kady assisted our department with various projects, while earning her Master of Library and Information Science degree. Part of Thomas Hutchins' map, published in 1778, which showed the Ohio Country, including some Indian trails Licking County has a rich transportation history, with Indian trails, pioneer roads, river and canal traffic, the National Road, railroads, interurbans, automobiles and airports.  One of the biggest events in early county history was the opening of the Ohio Canal at “Licking Summit,” located in what is now Heath, in 1825.  The man who dug the first shovel-full of earth for this canal was New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, who earlier ensured the construction of the Erie Canal. Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York, who participated ...

On September 10, four interesting old buildings in downtown Newark will be open for free public tours:  the County Courthouse, former Pennsylvania Railroad Station, Fifth Street Gymnasium and Historic Jail.  Take advantage of this special opportunity to see these buildings, which are not normally so accessible.  Details about the tours are below, following the descriptions of each building. Construction of the County Courthouse was completed in 1878.  Trials of many infamous criminals have occurred there, and the west courtroom contains beautiful, impressive works of art.  The Courthouse is still the scene of Common Pleas trials and Juvenile/Probate hearings.  It is located on the Newark city square. Andrew Jackson and other decorative work in the West Courtroom of the Licking County Courthouse An office in the County Courthouse, ca. 1925 The building which was formerly the Pennsylvania Railroad Station is now ...

An immigrant becomes a citizen by successfully completing the process called naturalization.  Naturalization records can show not only when an alien person acquired legal citizenship, but sometimes other interesting information as well, such as the birthplace and occupation.  The names of the documents and the amount of information vary from time to time and among different counties.  During much of American history, naturalization records were filed at many different kinds of courts, including federal, common pleas and probate.  A researcher therefore might need to search multiple archives for the records of one person. Final naturalization record of Solomon Tyhurst from England, 1821, in the Common Pleas Journal Typically, the initial step in the naturalization process was when an alien filed a declaration of intention.  This legally indicated that he or she intended to go through the process of becoming a citizen.  Later, after the alien had succ...

In 2015, the Department was especially productive in scanning, records disposal, cataloging, and preparing for our eventual move to 675 West Church Street.  With very generous help from Licking County Clerk of Courts Gary Walters and his staff, we have been going full steam ahead towards that future move.  Renovations will begin this year at the Church Street building.  After that project is complete, the building will enable us to consolidate several more county government collections at one location. 675 W. Church Street, where our department will eventually move all of our operations. Records & Archives Manager Sophia McGuire has also been working regularly with other county departments to determine future records storage needs, and assist with current records management issues.  She has presided at Record-Keeper Roundtable meetings, and she has been meeting individually with county records clerks throughout this year and last. Imaging Techn...