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15
S. College Avenue
Oxford, OH 45056
523-3035
Fax: 523-6661
sml@lanepl.org
Map
HOURS
M,W,Th, F = 10-12 & 1-5
T = 10-12 & 1-8
Sat
= 10-1
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This letter by David McMechan tells of life in rural Butler County in 1813. McMechan was a recent Irish immigrant when he wrote to Matthew Linn in New York, asking for news of mutual friends. The handwritten letter includes a report on the health of his family members and his desire to have more laborers to help clear the woods. In addition to owning a store, he also farmed, and his letter provides information on crops and livestock in Milford Township. Because he wrote in October of 1813, he provides a firsthand perspective on the War of 1812 in the western states and shares his optimism that the Americans will prevail over the British and Indians. (See if you can read the handwriting before looking at the typed transcript!)
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 This autographed publicity picture shows African-Amercian jazz musician Maurice Rocco, who was known for his boogie- woogie performances. He was named Maurice Rockhold when he was born in Oxford, Ohio, in 1915, but he later adopted the stage name Maurice Rocco. Because he was too short to reach the pedals from a bench or stool when he learned to play the piano at age four, he played while standing up and continued to do so as an adult—as part of his stage performance. He was a composer, arranger, pianist and singer, who played in many of the best-known nightclubs and theatres. Rocco had roles in several Hollywood movies before pursuing a career that took him to Europe and Asia. He was murdered in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1976 and is buried in Oxford's Woodside Cemetery.
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| About
the Smith Library of Regional History |
The Smith Library of Regional History, which opened in 1981,
was named for William E. and Ophia D. Smith whose published works
and personal library formed the nucleus of the collection. Financial
gifts from the Smith family were matched by others in order
to build the Smith Library, which adjoins the Oxford Lane Library.
In
addition to historical materials about Oxford, the Smith Library
collects information on the history of surrounding townships,
all of Butler County, other areas of southwestern Ohio, and
for some topics, the entire state of Ohio. General historical
studies on the Old Northwest Territory and the Ohio River Valley
are also covered, with emphasis on the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.
Smith
Library of Regional History Holdings
History
and Genealogy Page
Fairfield
History Photographs
Resources
for Teaching Local History
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