Hidden History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley

by Arcadia Publishing

Overview

Join the author of Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and Lost Youngstown in an excavation of forgotten stories from bygone days.

Beyond steel and rust, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley share a rich, but often overlooked past. During the late 1910s, the ever-present smoke blanketing the area could not hide the fires from the burning business district of East Youngstown or the city streets deserted from Spanish influenza. Over twenty years later, the Mahoning Valley lived under another dark cloud, the Great Depression, but instead of violence and destruction, the men and women of the WPA busied themselves with building up the region and dreaming of better days.

Journalist and historian Sean Posey excavates the history behind familiar landmarks, forgotten institutions, and historic sites that connect Mahoning Valley history to the story of the evolution of industrial America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467149570
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	01/10/2022
Series:	Hidden History
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	508,573
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Sean T. Posey is a freelance writer and historian. He holds a bachelor's degree in photojournalism from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and a master's degree in history from Youngstown State University. His work has been featured in a variety of publications, including Citylab, Salon and Bill Moyers and Company, as well as in the books Car Bombs to Cookie Tables: The Youngstown Anthology and the Pittsburgh Anthology. The History Press also released Sean's first two books: Lost Youngstown and Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction: Out of the Past 9

1 When the Spanish Flu Hung like a Black Cloud over the Mahoning Valley 13

2 Steel Valley Sluggers: An Early History of Youngstown Baseball 21

3 The Hidden History of the Mahoning County Infirmary 30

4 From Monkey's Nest to the Sharonline: A History of the Green Book in Youngstown 43

5 The WPA in the Mahoning Valley 54

6 WPA Documented Memories of Residents Born into Slavery 66

7 The Night East Youngstown Burned: A History of the 1915-1916 Steel Strike 72

8 The Great Steel Strike of 1919 82

9 "Worker's Colony" Survives as Testament to Housing and Labor History 96

10 The Evolution of Central Square 105

11 Central Square Library Met Needs of Growing City 123

12 When Route 66 Rolled through the Mahoning Valley 130

13 Youngstown's Original Farm-to-Table Stand 135

14 City Skyline Forever Altered by St. Columba's Fire 140

Bibliography 149

Index 157

About the Author 159