Historic Ashtabula Photos
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This building located in the gorge near the river along side of the bridge was the pump house. It was here that victims of the disaster we taken to keep warm and out of the snow storm.
Residents was located on Park St. in Ashtabula, OH.
This store was owned by Henry L. Morrison. It was the largest store in the country and there were no larger stores in the area until you reached Cleveland. To learn more about Henry Morrision, go to the "Character" page under the "The Story / About" menu and click on his picture.
Tombes Grocery Store at the corner of Main Ave. and Progress St. Note the oyster pails on the sidewalk. At left is the first bootblack stand in Ashtabula. (This photo was taken about 1895)
This was the home of Edwin Harmon. Edwin was the father of Mary Collins, wife of Charles Collins. Mary and Charles would visit here often and Mary would stay here when her husband was away for long periods of time working as the LS & MS railroads chief engineer. Could this be Mary Collins standing on the front porch?
This is Main Ave. looking south down the street in the winter.
West side of Main Ave. North from Fisk House.
The Ashtabula House hotel was one of the locations people from the disaster were taken. With no hospital in town, people were taken to homes and businesses to be treated and cared for.
To the left is the business of John Ducro, cabinetmaker and undertaker. John Ducro helped to identify many of the dead from the disaster. This photo is of Centre St. looking from Main Street in Ashtabula, OH.
This is the old Academy Bldg. moved from Park Ave. to Main Ave. It was the site of the Carlisle-Allen Store and the Masonic Lodge met here a few times. This building was build around 1851-1852.
This is the inside of the Old St. Peters Episcopal Church. This was the church where one of two funeral services were held for the unrecognized dead of the disaster.
This is how St. Peters Episcopal Church looked at the time of the disaster. It was completed on Feb. 22, 1829. A newer St. Peters Episcopal Church now stands at the same location in Ashtabula, Ohio.
Photo of First St. Peters Episcopal Church before it was raised and replaced by a new church building, which stands today.
In this photo of a saloon in Ashtabula. You will see James Manning (Pump House Engineer) standing to the far left. James Manning lost both his legs in a childhood dare attempting to jump onto a moving train. He almost died from his injures, but was saved by a doctor in town. He later made his own set of wooden legs so he could walk and work. There was no such thing as Social Security Disability in those days, so you worked, had family take care of you or starved.
This is the first substantial hospital building that was built after the Ashtabula Disaster. There was a smaller building with only four beds before this one, so this building was very welcomed in Ashtabula after it was built.