The Darrah Collection of Photographs

Thomas M. Darrah Photo: View from Old Stone Bridge, foot of big hill, National Pike, six miles from Bridgeport, Ohio, looking down Wheeling Creek, photo taken May 10th, 1885, by T. M. Darrah.

The Darrah Collection of Photographs are photographs mainly of Ohio County, WV and Belmont County, OH, including pictures of historic places, scenery and pictures from fishing trips on Big Wheeling Creek and the South Branch of the Potomac.

The majority of the photographs were taken by Thomas M. Darrah — a clerk of the City Court and early Wheeling photographer — between 1885 and 1893. The photographs are contained within an album, mounted on cardboard pages. The cardboard pages are badly warped.

These historic photos have been scanned to preserve as much of the artistic quality and style of the original, however, some distortions appear because of the warping.  If you would like to obtain an even higher resolution copy of a photo from this collection than is available on our website, please make a request through the OCPL contact form.

The photograph album is part of the OCPL's Special Collections and Archives and the physical album is available for viewing by appointment only.

The photo album, donated to the Ohio County Public Library, was the property of Thomas M. Darrah, a City Court clerk, grain broker, and early photographer in Wheeling, W. Va.