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Gallery: Do you remember? -- Dec. 27, 2010

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan gives a campaign speech in 1908 at the Cabell County Courthouse. Bryan lost the race to William Howard Taft. The central portion of the Cabell County Courthouse got under construction in the 1880s, but they ran out of money, with the result that the structure was not finished and occupied until 1904. The west wing was added in 1923. The east wing was later built in 1940 as a Works Progress Administration project. Thanks to Dick Bolen, James Casto and Ken Reffeitt for the information.

December 27, 2010 @ 09:55 AM

The Herald-Dispatch

On Sunday morning, Jan. 17, 1909, the first edition of The Herald-Dispatch appeared on the streets of Huntington. Fast-forward 101 years, and that's a lot of history.

We have discovered a treasure trove of old negatives and photos at The Herald-Dispatch. Some of the images, we know. Others, we have no idea.

In the coming months, we will scan the negatives and photos, which are crumbling and degrading as the years pass. We will create photo galleries with the images and add what caption information we know.

Browse through the gallery. If you can add caption information to any of the photos (or correct a caption we already have), e-mail online editor Andrea Copley-Smith at acopley@herald-dispatch.com or call 304-526-2764. Be sure to include the title of the gallery, details of the photo, your name and phone number.

More Images

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan gives a campaign speech in 1908 at the Cabell County Courthouse. Bryan lost the race to William Howard Taft. The central portion of the Cabell County Courthouse got under construction in the 1880s, but they ran out of money, with the result that the structure was not finished and occupied until 1904. The west wing was added in 1923. The east wing was later built in 1940 as a Works Progress Administration project. Thanks to Dick Bolen, James Casto and Ken Reffeitt for the information.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Modern-day feminists may find it interesting to note that this group of more than 50 dignitaries photographed at the Sept. 11, 1913, opening of Huntington's Ritter Park contains not one woman. The park was fashioned from land originally bought by the city as a site for an incinerator. Neighbors understandably objected to the idea and when lumberman C.L. Ritter offered to donate additional land if the total tract was used for a park, the city took him up on the offer. Historical Photo

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

An early Marshall College baseball team.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

An early barbershop.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

An early photo of the Huntington Police Department.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Image unknown.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Image unknown.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Image unknown.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Mail carriers around 1905.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Huntington Fire Department. The photo appears on page 37 in the book “Images of America -- Cabell County” by James Casto. Another view of the same building is on page 36, top. The photographer was standing on the northwest corner of 9th Street and 5th Avenue, looking across 9th Street to the fire station that was previously the city/county courthouse building. The building was located adjacent and north of the present Huntington Junior College, formerly the old Carnegie Library, and across 9th Street from the present Cabell County Library. The same building is shown in the center column, next to the last row of the same collage. It is shown in the book “Images of America -- Huntington” by Don Daniel McMillian, pages 61 and 62. Another view is shown on page 86 of the same book. It is also shown on the right edge of the photo in the left column, next to the last row. The photographer was standing on the west side of 9th Street in front of the present Cabell County Public Library.Thanks to Larry Legge for the information.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

1897 Old Log Cabin, southwest corner of 5th Avenue and 11th Street. This photo appears in the book "Cabell County Annals and Families" by George Seldon Wallace, 1935, on page 262. The book further states the the cabin was the home of John Q. and Eliza Adams. The home of Bradley Waters Foster was later located on this property and which later became the Children's Hospital circa 1928. This building was later razed and is the present location of the Huntington Federal Savings Bank.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Swimming in the Mud River in 1922.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

On March 31, 1913, the Ohio River crested at 66.4 feet, 16.4 feet above flood stage. No local lives were lost in 1913 (three people died here in the 1937 Flood), but suffering was acute. Fuel, light and gas supplies were cut off; no floodwalls protected the city, and water mains were closed to keep out river water. More than 2,000 refugees were housed in churches, schools, City Hall and the city jail. The floodwaters showed no favor. Among those stranded in Ashland were former President William Howard Taft, and in Huntington, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway president George Stevens. And, oh yes, three babies were born in Oley Elementary School.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Circus parade up Third Avenue about 1890s.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Flag raising at Oley Public School around 1890. The adjoining Oley Elementary and Junior High schools were named for John Hunt Oley, a Utica, N.Y., bachelor who was a member of the New York National Guard. Oley came to West Virginia during the Civil War and organized the 8th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (later the 7th West Virginia Cavalry). He was honored after the conflict for his meritorious service by being promoted to the rank of brevet brigadier general. Oley served as Huntington's first recorder, from the city's inception in 1871 to his death on March 11, 1888. He also served on the local school board and helped organize Trinity Episcopal Church. The first Oley School was built in 1888, the year of its namesake's death, on the southeast corner of 5th Avenue and 13th Street. The elementary/ junior high complex, modified several times over the years, was closed in 1977 and was razed two years later.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Image unknown.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Huntington City Hall building about 1890.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

Huntington City Hall building about 1890.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

The Camden Interstate Railway Company was organized on Dec. 13, 1900, to splice together several local streetcar lines to form a true interurban route between Guyandotte, Ashland and Hanging Rock, Ohio, by using a ferry boat between Ashland and Coal Grove, Ohio. Soon afterward, local steamboat traffic dried up and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway's "shuttle" to Ashland and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's "dummy" to Kenova were discontinued. Eventually, all of the original horsecars gave way to electrically powered streetcars, which in turn bowed to buses in 1937. Camden Park, a picnic spot started by the company in 1902, still operates as a separate entity.

Herald-Dispatch photo archive -

An early photo of the Huntington Police Department, shown in James Casto's "Huntington: An Illustrated History," on page 36. The caption reads: "The stern-looking members of the Huntington Police Department gathered for a formal portrait in 1890. The bearded gentleman (third from right in the front row) is Municipal Judge J. N. Potts."