The First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820

Related Resources

In American Memory

• Other Collections Featuring Migration
• Other Collections Related to the Early History of the Ohio Valley Region
• Other Collections Featuring Politics Relating to the Ohio Valley Region in this Period
• Other Library of Congress Resources

"California as I Saw It": First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years, 1849-1900

This collection consists of the full texts and illustrations of 190 works documenting the formative era of California's history through eyewitness accounts. The collection covers the dramatic decades between the Gold Rush and the turn of the twentieth century. It captures the pioneer experience; encounters between Anglo-Americans and the diverse peoples who had preceded them.

History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Collection of the Denver Public Library

Over 30,000 photographs, drawn from the holdings of the Western History and Genealogy Department at Denver Public Library, illuminate many aspects of the history of the American West. Most of the photographs were taken between 1860 and 1920. They illustrate Colorado towns and landscape, document the place of mining in the history of Colorado and the West, and show the lives of Native Americans from more than forty tribes living west of the Mississippi River.

Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910

This collection consists of first-person accounts, biographies, promotional literature, local histories, ethnographic and antiquarian texts, colonial archival documents, and other works. The collection's 138 volumes depict the land and its resources; the conflicts between settlers and Native peoples; the experience of pioneers and missionaries, soldiers and immigrants reformers; the growth of local communities and local cultural traditions; and more.

Prairie Settlement: Nebraska Photographs and Family Letters, 1862-1912

This digital collection integrates two collections from the holdings of the Nebraska State Historical Society, the Solomon D. Butcher photographs and the letters of the Uriah W. Oblinger family. Together they illustrate the story of settlement on the Great Plains. Approximately 3,000 glass plate negatives crafted by Butcher record the process of settlement in Nebraska between 1886 and 1912. The approximately 3,000 pages of Oblinger family letters discuss land, work, neighbors, crops, religious meetings, problems with grasshoppers, financial problems, etc.

Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion,1820-1890

This selection of items from Mystic Seaport's archival collections includes logbooks, diaries, letters, business papers, and published narratives of voyages and travels. The unique maritime perspective of these materials offers a rich look at the events, culture, beliefs, and personal experiences associated with the settlement of California, Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest. A number of photographs, paintings, maps, and nautical charts are also included to illustrate the story of Americans’ western seaborne travel. Various themes are touched upon, including whaling, life at sea, shipping, women at sea, and native populations.

The African-American Experience in Ohio: Selections from the Ohio Historical Society

Drawn from the collections of the Ohio Historical Society, this collection illuminates the history of black Ohio from 1850 to 1920. In particular, search the keyword with the terms 'Henry Clay', 'Ohio River' and 'Kentucky'.

America's First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits and Views, 1839-1862

The Library's daguerreotype collection consists of more than 725 photographs dating from 1839 to 1864. Portrait daguerreotypes produced by the Mathew Brady studio make up the major portion of the collection. Search the keyword with the term 'Kentucky' to see portraits of prominent Kentuckians of the time.

America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets

For most of the nineteenth century, before the advent of phonograph and radio technologies, Americans learned the latest songs from printed song sheets.These were songs being sung in music halls or new lyrics to familiar songs, like "Yankee Doodle." Song sheets are an early example of a mass medium and today they offer a unique perspective on the political, social, and economic life of the time. The collection spans the period from the turn of the nineteenth century to the 1880s. In particular, use the keyword search with the terms 'Kentucky' and 'Ohio River'.

Map Collections: 1544-1999

The focus of Map Collections is Americana and Cartographic Treasures of the Library of Congress. See especially: The American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789 and Civil War Maps. In particular, use the keyword search with the terms 'Kentucky' and 'Ohio River'.

Southern Voices: Texts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

These two collections from the libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill each won an award in the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library competition. First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920 includes the diaries, autobiographies, memoirs, travel accounts, and narratives of prominent individuals and also of relatively inaccessible populations: women, African Americans, enlisted men, laborers, and Native Americans. The Church in the Southern Black Community, 1780-1925, traces how Southern African Americans experienced and transformed Protestant Christianity into the central institution of community life. In particular, for both of these collections, use the keyword search with the term 'Kentucky'.

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873

This collection brings together the records and acts of Congress from the Journals of the Continental Congress through The Congressional Globe, which ceased publication with the 42nd Congress in 1873. In particular, search the keyword with the terms 'Burr Conspiracy', 'Henry Clay', 'Kentucky Resolutions', 'Daniel Boone', 'Ohio River' and 'Kentucky'. Also, see the United States Serial Set Number 4015 Indian Land Cessions in the United States and search for Kentucky Indian tribes such as 'Shawnee', 'Cherokee' and 'Chickasaw'.

George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799

The complete George Washington Papers collection consists of approximately 65,000 documents. Document types in the collection as a whole include correspondence, letterbooks, commonplace books, diaries, journals, financial account books, military records, reports, and notes. In particular, search on the terms 'Lord Dunmore', 'Aaron Burr', 'Burr Conspiracy', 'Kentucky', 'Ohio River', 'Cherokee' and 'Shawnee'.

The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress

The complete Thomas Jefferson Papers consists of approximately 27,000 documents. Document types in the collection as a whole include correspondence, commonplace books, financial account books, and manuscript volumes. The collection ranges in date from 1606 to 1827. In particular, use the keyword to search the terms 'Aaron Burr', 'Burr Conspiracy', 'Kentucky', 'Ohio River' and 'Cherokee'.

Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100 Years

Ninety representative documents spanning from the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century including the papers of presidents, cabinet ministers, members of Congress, and other prominent Americans whose lives reflect our country's evolution. In particular, use the keyword to search the terms 'Henry Clay' and 'Kentucky'.

Exhibit: Religion and the Founding of the American Republic

This exhibition demonstrates that many of the colonies that in 1776 became the United States of America were settled by men and women of deep religious convictions who in the seventeenth century crossed the Atlantic Ocean to practice their faith freely. That the religious intensity of the original settlers would diminish to some extent over time was perhaps to be expected, but new waves of eighteenth century immigrants brought their own religious fervor across the Atlantic and the nation’s first major religious revival in the middle of the eighteenth century injected new vigor into American religion. See especially, Section 7, the Camp Meeting that discusses the Kentucky Revival.