Book Notes
Little Cities of Black Diamonds:
Urban Development in the Hocking Coal
Region, 1870-1900. By Ivan M. Tribe. (Athens: Athens County Historical
Society and Museum, 1988. vii + 130p.;
tables, notes, index.) and, Sprinkled
with Coal Dust: Life and Work in the
Hocking Coal Region, 1870-1900. By
Ivan M. Tribe. (Athens: Athens County
Historical Society and Museum, 1989.
viii + 168p.; tables, notes, index.)
Tribe's two books constitute a history of the
Hocking Valley coal mining towns in the
corners of Perry, Hocking and Athens
counties from their establishment in the
late nineteenth century until 1900. A
comprehensive treatment, they include
demographics, governmental, political,
economic, labor, social, educational and
cultural history. Also included is a
detailed treatment of the Panic of 1893
in the region and the economic recovery
that followed.
Ohio Historical Society David A. Simmons
Uncommon Threads: A Centennial
History of the Bethel Mennonite Church.
By James O. Lehman. (West Liberty, Ohio:
Bethel Mennonite Church, 1990.
viii + 247p.; illustrations, notes,
appendixes, index.) James O. Lehman,
well-known for his important contributions
to the field of local history, has
again turned his hand to writing the
history of a congregation. Uncommon
Threads provides an exhaustively thorough look at the West
Liberty, Ohio,
Bethel Mennonite Church. This book is
well written and includes detailed
notes, appendixes, and index, as well as
many illustrations. Anyone interested
in Mennonite history should find
Lehman's latest work of interest.
Ohio Historical Society Laura Russell
Treasure by the Bay: The Historic
Architecture of Sandusky, Ohio. By
Ellie
Damm. (Lewisburg: Bucknell University
Press, 1989. 192p.; illustrations,
maps, notes, bibliography, indexes.)
This handsome hardbound volume,
printed in a large format, visually
chronicles the significant nineteenth and
early twentieth century architecture of
this historic Lake Erie port. An
important contribution to Ohio's growing
list of architectural histories, Trea-
sure by the Bay is the culmination of an architectural survey and
National
Register nomination conducted and
coordinated by the author over a period of
several years, in which nearly 1,500
buildings were documented and ninety-five
nominated to the National Register of
Historical Places. Native limestone, just
one of the community's distinctive
physical attributes, is seen in most of the
larger buildings erected before and
immediately after the Civil War. Brief texts
devoted to topics such as "Carved in
Limestone" and "Commerce 'Round the
Town" introduce each of the twelve chapters. Over
150 large black and white
photographs are accompanied by
descriptive captions of individual structures
in the community. While not a
comprehensive analysis, Treasure by the Bay