#TBT - Historic Snapshot of Middletown

With Ron Howard’s Hillbilly Elegy coming to Netflix on November 24, 2020, let’s take a quick historic tour of Middletown and see what it has had to offer over the years.

1930 Map of Middletown - Atlas and plat book of Butler County, Ohio, 1930 : compiled from surveys and the public records of Butler County, Ohio

First up on the tour and located at #1 on the map is the American Rolling Mill Company - better known as Armco.

American Rolling Mill Company, circa 1917

Central Works of Armco, c. 1945

Aerial View of Armco's East Works, 1949

The Arm-co-operator, May 1948, Page 5

The Arm-co-operator, May 1948, Page 13

Aerial of Middletown, Ohio, 1963

Aerial of Armco's Project 600, Middletown, Ohio, 1966 March

First Slab, Armco Hot Strip Mill Start-up, August 31, 1968

Next up, located at #2, is the First United Methodist Church. Originally founded in 1850, First United has also been known as the Methodist Episcopal Church (1850 to 1891), the Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church (1891 to 1937), and First Methodist Church (1937 to 1968).

Stained Glass Windows, First United Methodist Church, 2014-2015

Methodist Episcopal Church, 1890

Broadway, Middletown, c. 1895

First United Methodist Church and Wesley Hall, July 1975

irst United Methodist Church, 120 South Broad Street, Middletown, Ohio, 1979 May

At #3 is the Armco Association.

Armco Club at Sorg Opera Building, 1914

Armco Bulletin, May 1914, page 10

Armco Bulletin, March 1917, page 92

Armco Association Club, 1920

Armco Bulletin, March - April 1925, page 69

Armco Bulletin, March 1929, page 119

Armco Bulletin, March 1929, page 120

Armco Colored Center, Middletown, Ohio, 1942

#4 is Middletown’s Downtown including Third Street - present day Central Avenue, Main Street, and Broad Street - once know as Broadway.

Third Street, 1920

Third Street near Clinton Avenue, c. 1922

Aerial View Looking West Towards Downtown Middletown, c. 1950

Aerial View of Downtown, c. 1975

Looking Northeast at Middletown, October 2, 1955

Central Plaza, 1959

Our final stop, #5, is located off the map! Let’s check out the Middletown Hospital.

Middletown Hospital Under Construction, c. 1916

The Middletown Hospital and Nurses' Home, c. 1923

Middletown Hospital, circa 1956

Aerial photograph of the Middletown Hospital, 105 McKnight Drive, Middletown, Ohio, circa 1982

Hospital Expansion, c. 1987

Atrium Medical Center

For more historical images and content, check out the www.MidPointeDigitalArchives.org!